Online detectives are buzzing with curiosity as they try to unravel a dialogue between Mike Brown and referee Marc Davis.
The exchange took place during the Spurs’ thrilling 115-111 win over the Knicks in Game 3 on Monday night at Madison Square Garden. In the aftermath, Knicks coach Mike Brown voiced his frustrations over a significant disparity in free-throw opportunities between the teams during the second half. However, it was one particular conversation that truly captured the fans’ attention.
The specifics of Brown’s comments to Davis in the third quarter—when the Spurs were narrowly leading 81-80—remain murky. It seems Brown was expressing dissatisfaction with what he perceived as inconsistent foul calls.
“Over here, you called it a foul, but over there, you called it a travel,” Brown appears to say.
“Ah, s–t you’re right,” Davis is speculated to have said in response, though some commenters argued he said, “[Jalen] Brunson’s drive”
During the play, Landry Shamet was called for a personal foul on Keldon Johnson, who extended the lead to 82-80 after splitting the pair of free throws at the line but it is unclear if that is part of the discussion or not.
The Spurs are 64-for-84 at the line in the Finals, compared to 50-for-61 for the Knicks.
Afterward, Brown criticized officiating for the Spurs’ 24-to-8 free-throw attempt advantage in the second half of Game 3.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst suspects that the Knicks’ front office told Brown to complain about the officiating postgame, as the Knicks have had fewer free-throw attempts in all three games thus far.
The Knicks head back to The Garden for Game 4 Wednesday night where they will look to claim a 3-1 advantage in the NBA Finals.