Mike Brown had some issues with the officiating during Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday, but Karl-Anthony Towns had a different approach.
Towns’ New York Knicks lost to the San Antonio Spurs 115-111 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden in New York on Monday. Brown, who is in his first season as the Knicks’ head coach, complained after the game about all the free throws the Spurs were awarded in the second half.
“I never thought I’d 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 after the game. “I don’t think I complain much about officials, or the fairness when it comes to free throw attempts. San Antonio is a great team. It’s going to lower our odds big time if we play Game 4 and in the second half, they get 24 free throw attempts to our eight. Maybe we were fouling, but they fouled, too.”
Though Brown felt the free throw issue hurt his team, Towns did not. Or, at least he did not say so publicly.
“Naw, that ain’t cost us the game,” Towns said. “Turned the ball over. Didn’t execut. 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 did for 13; we decided to do something different. … It’s a clear indication of how you’re going to lose the game, especially in the playoffs.”
Towns had just 11 points on 4/10 shooting with 8 rebounds. He added 3 steals and 2 blocks. Jalen Brunson, who is typically the Knicks’ standout player, scored 32 points but shot just 11/25 from the field.
Game 4 of the series is on Wednesday night in New York.
