“Two have no business being out there, and the crew chief (Zach Zarba) was acting starstruck,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said of Monday’s officials after a controversial overtime loss at Denver.
In Monday’s back-and-forth thriller at Denver, Alperen Sengun’s tough bucket put the Houston Rockets in front by a point with only 2.3 seconds left to play in the fourth quarter.
The Nuggets then tied it when Amen Thompson was called for an away-from-the-play foul on Tim Hardaway Jr. on the ensuing inbounds attempt, even though Hardaway appeared to trip over his own feet.
The cointroversial foul led to a Jamal Murray free throw, which sent the game to overtime.
From there, the Nuggets (19-6) eventually held on in a 128-125 victory (box score) at Ball Arena. In a potentially impactful result in the Western Conference standings, the Rockets (16-7) are now 0-2 against Denver this season.
Understandably, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka was displeased with the officiating. In postgame remarks, he elaborated on his frustrations, starting with the controversial call:
Ticky tack. Went along with the game tonight. Not surprised by the crew we had out there.
Just in general, I think it was as poorly officiated a game as I’ve seen in a long time. Two have no business being out there, and the crew chief (Zach Zarba) was acting starstruck. We were seeing all kinds of inconsistent calls.
Keep being who we are. We’re not going to adjust to poor officials. We’re going to do what we do, and hopefully they can adjust and call it the right way. It’s two physical teams and a high-level game.
Final statistics included:
- Nikola Jokic (Nuggets): 39 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists; 13-of-27 shooting (48.1%), 5-of-9 on 3-pointers (55.6%), 8-of-11 on free throws (72.7%)
- Jamal Murray (Nuggets): 35 points, 5 assists; 9-of-17 shooting (52.9%), 3-of-5 on 3-pointers (60.0%), 14-of-15 on free throws (93.3%)
- Alperen Sengun: 33 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists; 14-of-27 shooting (51.9%), 5-of-6 on free throws (83.3%)
- Kevin Durant: 25 points, 7 assists, 5 blocks, 5 rebounds; 8-of-14 shooting (57.1%), 2-of-3 on 3-pointers (66.7%), 7-of-8 on free throws (87.5%)
- Jabari Smith Jr.: 16 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists; 6-of-11 shooting (54.5%), 4-of-6 on 3-pointers (66.7%)
- Amen Thompson: 14 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists; 5-of-13 shooting (38.5%), 4-of-5 on free throws (80.0%)
“I thought he probably should’ve had seven or eight, but they called fouls on them,” an exasperated Udoka said of Durant’s block total. “Murray had 15 free throws.”
For the Rockets, Monday’s game opened up a six-game road trip, all versus West opponents. They will travel to New Orleans (5-22) for a game on Thursday before returning to Denver for a rematch against the Nuggets on Saturday afternoon.
