Much of the reaction to Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors was directed toward the officiating.
The referees appeared to miss several fouls on a handful of three-point shots likely would have resulted in free throws for Houston.
Most of those missed foul calls were on shots taken by James Harden.
As you can see, Klay Thompson was in Harden’s landing space, as well as a couple of other instances throughout the game.
This is a very dangerous maneuver — if Harden would’ve landed on Thompson’s foot, he could’ve easily injured himself.
After the game, Harden was asked about the missed calls and was noticeably frustrated.
I just want a fair chance, man. Especially because we all know what happened a few years back with Kawhi – like that can change an entire series. Just call the game the way it’s supposed to be called and we’ll live with the results. It’s plain and simple.
Harden was referring to when Kawhi Leonard got injured on a similar play against the Warriors in 2017. Leonard, who was with the Spurs, was hurt when Zaza Pachulia, then with the Warriors, stepped into his landing space.
The Rockets were not pleased and picked up three technical fouls in Game 1.
Will the officiating be different in Game 2? Watch at 10:30 p.m ET on TNT.
