Despite being at home, the Rockets made 11 fewer free throws than San Antonio in Saturday’s close defeat. After Houston briefly took their only advantage of the game with less than 4:00 left in the fourth quarter, the Spurs scored their next six points on the foul line to retire.
In comments after the game, veteran guard John Wall, who led the Rockets with 27 points (52.6% FG) and 7 assists in 32 minutes, made it clear he was extremely frustrated with numerous calls.
When asked in the postgame about the final whistles of Saturday’s game against the Rockets, Wall replied:
I don’t know why. I know I’ll probably be fined for that, but the referees are amazing. We are a team with guys who drive a lot in the basket and we always have excuses why we don’t get the same calls as the other guys.
The guys drive, every time we touch them or slide down, they get all the calls. I feel like we have guys driving in the basket enough between me, Vic, EG, driving and not getting the same calls. It’s a little frustrating, but because we lack easy photos we normally get, and some guys get calls they probably shouldn’t.
Below you can watch the full video of Wall’s post-game interview. Despite having spasms in his back, Wall on Saturday absorbed significant contact in his units to the brink as he tried to lead his Rockets (11-11) to victory. It was only Houston’s second loss in the last nine games.
Saturday’s party officials were David Guthrie, Mitchell Ervin and Suyash Mehta. It remains to be seen whether the NBA will fine Wall on Sunday for his comments, as they usually do for public criticism of officials.