Mike Brown criticizes refs, but Knicks players know who to blame for Game 3 loss to Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs earned a gritty 115-111 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Monday night to decrease the Knicks' NBA Finals series lead to 2-1. 

While speaking with reporters following his team's defeat, Knicks head coach Mike Brown had plenty to say about the contest's officiating. 

Mike Brown was furious Spurs had 24 second-half free-throw attempts, while the Knicks had eight

"I never thought I would be in the NBA Finals and see a team get 24 free-throw attempts in the second half to another team's eight," Brown said, per Ian Begley of SNY. "I don't think I complain much about officials or the fairness when it comes to the free throw attempts….Maybe we were fouling. But they fouled, too." 

Multiple questionable decisions went against the Knicks in Game 3, such as when San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama got away with a clear shove to the back of the head of New York captain Jalen Brunson in the first quarter. As Sporting News' Daniel Mader noted, the Spurs shot 25-32 from the free-throw line on Monday. To compare, the Knicks were 18-22 from the charity stripe.  

"Now, we didn't play good," Brown added. "San Antonio played great. We could have played better. There was a lot of things that we didn't do that we did in Game 1 and Game 2. But to go 24 free throw attempts in the second half, that's 48 for the game if you think about the way they called that second half, compared to eight. All the shots we took, we got fouled four times, roughly, for eight free throw attempts. Again, I don't complain much. I never thought I'd see that in an NBA Finals game, and I saw it tonight. That's tough to overcome when you're playing against a great team." 

Knicks players declined to blame refs for their first loss in over a month

Before Monday night, the Knicks hadn't suffered a loss since April 23 and had notched 13 straight victories. Brunson was among the New York players who suggested after the game that they and not the referees were to blame for why the hosts failed to hold serve at MSG in Game 3. 

"I think we turned the ball over a lot, first and foremost, and also we were fouling a lot and put them at the line about 30 times," Brunson said, according to Vincent Goodwill of ESPN. "With our live ball turnovers, got them out in transition."

The stats prove Brunson's point. Per Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today, the Knicks committed 13 turnovers, while the Spurs ended the game with just eight. San Antonio scored 21 points off New York's giveaways, compared to just seven points the Knicks recorded off the Spurs' turnovers. 

Meanwhile, the Knicks shot a woeful 2-of-14 from three-point range in the contest's fourth quarter. 

"That ain't cost us the game. Turned the ball over. Didn't execute," Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said about the refs after the defeat. "Didn't do what got us 13 straight wins in a row. That's how you lose a game. We didn't do what we've been doing for 13. We decided to do something different, and it ain't going to work."

The Knicks will next host the Spurs for Game 4 of the Finals on Wednesday night. One wonders if Brown’s comments will impact how that contest is and/or isn't officiated.