Despite being at home, the Rockets made 11 attempts less free throws than San Antonio in Saturday’s defeat. After Houston briefly took the lead in the game, with less than 4 hours to go before the fourth period ended, Spurs scored their next six points on the foul line to get away.
In post-game comments, veteran guard John Wall – who led the Rockets with 27 points (52.6% FG) and 7 assists in 32 minutes – made it clear that he was extremely frustrated with numerous calls.
When asked after the game about the late whistles in Saturday’s game against the Rockets, Wall replied:
I do not know why. I know I’ll probably be fined for that, but the referees, they are just unbelievable. We are a team with guys who drive a lot towards the basket, and we always have excuses about why we don’t get the same calls as the others.
Guys drive, every time we hit them or slide down, they get all the calls. I feel like we have guys who drive to the basket enough between me, Vic, EG, who drive and don’t get those same calls. It’s kind of frustrating, but because we’re missing out on the easy scenes we usually get and some guys are getting calls they probably shouldn’t be getting.
The full video of Wall’s post-game interview can be seen below. Despite spasms in his back, Wall absorbed significant contact in his attacks to the edge on Saturday, while trying to lead his Rockets (11-11) to victory. It was only Houston’s second defeat in the last nine games.
The referees for Saturday’s game were David Guthrie, Mitchell Ervin and Suyash Mehta. It remains to be seen whether the NBA will fine Wall on Sunday for his comments, as they often do for public criticism of officials.