Despite being at home, the Rockets lost 11 fewer free-throw attempts than San Antonio. After Houston briefly took its only lead in the game by less than 4:00 in the fourth quarter, the Spurs scored their next six points on the foul line to pull away.
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 that he was very frustrated with numerous calls.
When asked about the late whistles in Saturday’s game against the Rockets, Wall replied:
I do not know why. I know I’ll probably be fined for that, but the refs, they’s just amazing. We’re a team of guys who drive a lot to the basket, and we always get excuses as to why we do not get the same calls that the other guys get.
Guys drive, every time we bump or swing them, they get every call. I feel like we have guys driving enough to my basket, Vic, EG, driving and not getting the same calls. It’s quite frustrating, though, because we miss easy shots, which we normally get, and some guys get calls they probably would not get.
The full video of Wall’s post – match interview can be seen below. Despite having back spasms, Wall on Saturday absorbed considerable contact on his ride to the edge while trying to beat his Rockets (11-11). It was only Houston’s second loss in the last nine games.
The officials for Saturday’s game were David Guthrie, Mitchell Ervin and Suyash Mehta. It remains to be seen whether the NBA Wall will campaign for his comments on Sunday, as is usual for public criticism of officials.