Rockets coach Ime Udoka was hot after the Rockets’ 128-125 overtime loss to the Thunder on Monday — and he didn’t hold back.
_“Just in general, I think, most poorly officiated game I’ve seen in a long time. They \[officials Natalie Sago and Jamahl Ralls\] have no business being out there, and \[Zach Zarba\] was acting starstruck. You’re seeing all kind of inconsistent calls, and I’m sure we should’ve gotten a few more techs.”_
That earned him a $25,000 fine from the league for “public criticism of the officiating,” which was announced Wednesday.
It was a game called fairly tightly considering it was a high-powered showdown between two of the top teams in the West. There were 53 total fouls called and 59 free throws, but there was not a massive disparity between the sides (33 attempts for Denver to 26 for Houston). It felt worse late, with the Nuggets getting to the line 11 times in the fourth quarter, compared with just five times for the Rockets.
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