The Oklahoma City Thunder had been called for three technical fouls all season before Tuesday’s NBA Cup. They got their second and third of the game on one play after a no-call early in the third quarter.
Lu Dort was furious when the referees called a jump ball after Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks jumped on his back in an effort to grab a loose ball. After Dort drew a technical foul for complaining and the no-call, Thunder coach Marc Daigneault was also given a “T.”
Damian Lillard dutifully made both free throws, then the play turned truly disastrous for the Thunder. Milwaukee corralled the jump ball and Antetokounmpo found Lillard for a deep three-pointer.
Instead of getting the ball for a throw-in, OKC gave up a five-point possession to Milwaukee. The Bucks came out with an 11-point lead, which they extended to 13 points after Antetokounmpo spearheaded an 8-0 Bucks run to end the quarter. They went on to win, 97-81.
That all may have been different if the Thunder got that call. It would have been the fourth personal foul for the Greek Freak, who may not have been in the game to score 12 points, grab 10 rebounds, block a shot and get two steals, all in the third quarter.
Antetokounmpo finished with a triple-double, headlined by 26 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists. Most of that damage came in the third quarter.
As for the foul call, contact often goes uncalled during a loose ball scrum. It was called late in the Houston Rockets’ comeback win over the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, when a loose ball foul called on Jonathan Kuminga gave Jalen Green two go-ahead free throws. After the game, Steve Kerr called the foul “unconscionable.”
Still, the biggest culprit in the Thunder’s loss was their awful shooting. They went 33.3 percent from the field and 15.6 percent from three-point range. And they can’t blame the officials for that one.
