HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- Dillon Brooks could sense something was brewing between LeBron James and Ime Udoka in the fourth quarter of the Rockets 107-97 loss in Los Angeles on Saturday.
"I tried to push LeBron away from it," Brooks said Monday. "The refs just let it get out of hand."
Viral videos have shown the Lakers star and Rockets head coach go at it verbally by the Rockets bench after Udoka took issue with James complaining about a call, culminating in double technical fouls being issued to each, which for Udoka was his second. Brooks placed the blame squarely on the three officials.
"A terrible group out there that was reffing, and they lost control of the game, and it was very inconsistent," he said.
The crew of Tre Maddox, Dedric Taylor, and J.T. Orr called six technical fouls on Saturday night, including the third of the season for Brooks, but the Rockets were more frustrated by what they felt was an officiating imbalance.
"There's been discrepancy at times, definitely in free throws, but even fouls," Udoka said. "I think it was 12-3 at one point in the middle of the second quarter."
The Rockets were whistled for seven more fouls and attempted nine fewer free throws against the Lakers on Saturday, and for the season they have been called for 3.3 more fouls per game than their opponents, the league's third largest discrepancy, while attempting 5.5 fewer free throws.
"We're attacking the basket, too," Udoka said.
Brooks, who trailed only Draymond Green in technical fouls last season, said during the preseason he feels like officials have targeted him in the past, but says he wants them to impact the game far less than they do.
"In this basketball game there should be no grudges held, there should be no emotions towards the game. It's just reffing the game or playing the game the way it's supposed to be played. A lot of this agenda is not for the game, it's ruining the game. I feel like in this basketball game we preach flow and fluidity, not a lot of stoppage, so the fans can be happy with the game of basketball and we can be happy with the result and learn from it."
"A lot of this agenda is not for the game, it's ruining the game. I feel like in this basketball game we preach flow and fluidity, not a lot of stoppage, so the fans can be happy with the game of basketball and we can be happy with the result and learn from it."
The Rockets have been called for 3.3 more fouls per game than they've drawn this season, the second largest margin in the NBA
