New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown went off on the officiating after his team’s Game 3 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
Brown fixated on the free throw disparity between the two teams after the Knicks’ 115-111 loss to the Spurs at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. The Spurs attempted 24 second half free throws compared with eight for the Knicks, which Brown found ridiculous.
“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.”
Mike Brown spent almost 5 minutes at the start of his presser complaining about the officiating: pic.twitter.com/4R5W7SBlmm
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) June 9, 2026
There is nothing Brown can do about this now, so he is presumably lobbying for a more favorable whistle in Game 4. The Knicks coach was not completely off the mark, either. He could point to at least one instance where Victor Wembanyama completely got away with what could have been a flagrant foul had the officials spotted it. The Spurs have also had the free throw advantage in all three games of the series so far, whether that is appropriate or not.
On the other hand, the Knicks turned the ball over 13 times in their Game 3 loss. Plus, some would argue that Brown himself was directly responsible for some of the team’s second half struggles. That is why this is a pressure tactic as much as anything else, but Brown certainly held nothing back when lobbying for better treatment in Wednesday’s Game 4.
