Phoenix Suns wing Dillon Brooks said the state of officiating in the NBA needs to improve and asserted that referees are “making calls out of emotion.”
The Suns lost 124-122 to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night. Brooks received a technical foul while arguing with the refs over the decision to halt play after Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher had a scary fall.
Following the game, Brooks vented how the Suns were “playing seven against five” in his view, and he said the referees were being too “emotional” with their on-court rulings:
The technical was one of the few blemishes from Brooks’ performance. He finished with 34 points, six rebounds, one assist and three steals in 36 minutes on the floor. His dogged defending on Hawks forward Jalen Johnson led to a flagrant 1 foul late in the second quarter as well.
Still, that wasn’t enough for Phoenix to avoid ending its five-game winning streak.
Brooks’ postgame comments are likely going to come at a cost because such a harsh critique of the refs may draw a fine from the NBA.
