The Golden State Warriors were hoping to keep their 10-4 record at home when they hosted the defending champions tonight. The Dubs are shorthanded with Stephen Curry and most of the veteran core on the bench. This gives them a great view of a frustrating situation that seems to follow OKC everywhere.

Most claim to see a pattern in the officiating when the Oklahoma City Thunder is playing. Fans and even some veteran NBA stars have accused them of foul-baiting. Tonight doesn’t help their case.

It happened early in the game, with just under two minutes remaining in the first quarter. OKC led 26–19 during a frontcourt possession when the referee on the opposite side suddenly called a foul on Al Horford for contact against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The thing is, no one on the court—or in the stands—thought it was a foul.

Steve Kerr, the Warriors bench, and the arena burst in uproar over the call. Stephen Curry, sidelined with a hurt ankle, stood up and showed his disgust while most of the spectators in Chase Center were confused.

No one really knows what the referee saw, since nobody else could make sense of it. Replays showed Horford jumping to block SGA’s shot without making any contact.

The frustrating call has sparked an online backlash, with anger now directed at OKC because of the referee’s error.

Frustration mounts against OKC as Warriors hold back

The replays showed not just the Warriors’ side getting mad about this call. Announcer Bob Fitzgerald is loudly expressing his disbelief, “How did you see it from 40 feet away on the other side of the court?” That’s exactly what the Internet is asking.

Fitzgerald has a reputation for discussing OKC, which has made him a divisive figure in the NBA community. “It’s funny because Fitz always brings up how Shai gets questionable calls 😂” someone said. And this is during an atmosphere when even LeBron James spoke about questionable calls on OKC, and coaches are mad about it.

Not only did they note, “Fitz is fed up,” but every officiating decision came under scrutiny tonight. Another call during a play that happened in front of the same referee was given a pass, making fans even more furious.

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“This is clearly a backcourt violation, the Asian ref is right there to see the play and doesn’t make the call, Thunder get a 3-pointer out of the possession. He magically called a foul on Horford against SGA from the other side of the floor earlier, though.”

Once again, the NBA world is dropping the ‘flopping’ allegation about OKC. “I’m starting to really dislike this flailing a– flopping OKC team.”

The tension was so palpable, Pat Spencer was mouthing off at the OKC bench. That earned him a tech.

While Kerr is yelling at the refs, Curry was mad. Probably because, “BUT STEPH WHO GETS GRABBED ALL GAME CANT EVEN BUY A CALL 😭, S— IS RIDICULOUS.”

The Warriors have chosen to rest Curry and Draymond Green on the front end of a back-to-back set while Jimmy Butler is sick and Jonathan Kuminga is injured. Analysts predict that the Dubs would rather protect Curry and the veteran core from OKC’s physicality to get an easier win against the Utah Jazz tomorrow.

Fans know that “The warriors don’t care about winning this game anyways.” 

Doesn’t make such questionable calls any less frustrating. And it’s going to reignite the debate about OKC’s ‘foul-baiting’ allegations once more.