The Denver Nuggets were “punked,” as interim coach, David Adelman, said in Game Two against the Oklahoma City Thunder. After an exhilarating Game One that saw Aaron Gordon hit his second game-winner of the postseason, the Thunder took the Nuggets’ souls in Game Two winning by an astounding final score of 149-106. However, Aaron Gordon did stand up for the star big man, Nikola Jokić, after the game. Gordon questioned referee Scott Foster, and his crew and the physicality the Thunder were allowed to use on Jokić.
Aaron Gordon Calls Out Scott Foster and Company After Horrendous Game Two Loss
Gordon had this to say after Denver’s Game Two defeat:
“If they’re going to let them push him and shove him or put two hands on him, root him out, the knees, elbows and all types of stuff they’re doing to him, that’s not necessarily legal, there’s not much that you can do. [Jokić] got to play through it. If they’re not going to call it, then they’re not going to call it.
“They’re fouling the guy. They’re calling the second foul almost every time. They’re fouling Joker first, and then [Jokić] is reactionary, and they do get the second guy a lot of the time. But they’re fouling him — point blank, period — throughout the game. It’s a thing where you can’t call every foul or you’d be calling a foul every single play, but they are fouling him.”
Gordon did at least concede that the refs cannot catch everything. It should also be noted that the Nuggets did not lose because of the officiating. After all, the Thunder shot 56.2 percent from the field compared to Denver’s 37.9 percent shooting. Not to mention, Oklahoma City tied the record for most points in a half of a playoff game (87). The Thunder were called for 24 fouls while the Nuggets were called for 29 fouls. That is not a big discrepancy. However, it was the timeliness and inconsistency of some of the calls that raised some eyebrows.
Nikola Jokić fouled out in the third quarter and exited the game with a pedestrian line of 17 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Russell Westbrook, who finished the game with 19 points and five assists, also received a technical foul in the first half after arguing a call that could have gone either way. With all of this in mind, it will be interesting to see how the rest of this series is officiated going forward. Especially with Aaron Gordon now planting the proverbial seeds of what some perceive as one-sided officiating benefitting the Thunder.
