After the Knicks’ Game 3 NBA Finals defeat at Madison Square Garden on Monday, head coach Mike Brown voiced his frustration with the officials over a stark free-throw disparity in the second half.
In their 115-111 win, the Spurs managed to narrow the Knicks’ series advantage to 2-1, capitalizing on 24 free-throw attempts during the latter half of the game, while the Knicks were afforded just eight opportunities from the line.
“I never imagined facing a scenario in the NBA Finals where one team receives 24 free-throw attempts in the second half compared to another’s eight,” Brown remarked post-game. “I’m not one to frequently challenge the officiating or question the fairness of free-throw opportunities. The Spurs are an excellent team — no doubt about it.”
Brown continued, “Our chances diminish significantly if, in Game 4, they again outpace us with 24 attempts to our eight in the second half. Perhaps we were committing fouls, but it’s not as if they weren’t doing the same.”
Brown brought up one play where Karl-Anthony Towns got “whacked across the arm” when he shot the ball after getting a loose-ball rebound.
“There were opportunities to at least try to even the free throws out,” Brown added. “Now we didn’t play good. San Antonio played great.”
The Spurs made 25 of 32 free-throw attempts overall in Game 3 while the Knicks were 18-for-22.
Victor Wembanyama, who didn’t get called for a foul in the first half despite shoving Jalen Brunson in the back of the head, was 8-for-9 from the free-throw line and finished with 32 points.