There is maybe nothing as predictable and tedious in the NBA playoffs — and all of sports — than the coach of a losing playoff team ranting about the officiating. It's a cliche with the point of trying to plant a seed in the minds of the next referee crew, although that's not always how it comes off.
Knicks coach Mike Brown, the floor is yours.
"I never thought I would be in the NBA Finals and see a team get 24 free throw attempts in the second half to another team's eight. I don't think I complain much about officials or the fairness when it comes to the free throw attempts," Brown said in a rant before he was ever asked a question. "San Antonio is a great team. They are a great team, okay. It's going to lower our odds big time, 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. Maybe we were fouling. But they fouled, too."
Brown sounded too much like a guy making excuses. To be fair, he was clear to say "San Antonio won the game" and the Knicks could have played better, but his venting sounded a lot like a politician who attended Game 3 and likes to play to his base — and Knicks fans ate it up. In the immediate aftermath of the game, it became the narrative, at least the loudest one.
It also misses the point. The officiating has been uneven all series, but it has gone both ways (and did in Game 3).
San Antonio won Game 3 because it made adjustments that worked, and then played with more poise than the Knicks down the stretch. There were a few factors at play.
• Turnovers: New York had 13 turnovers, too many of them live ball, which became 21 Spurs points. The Spurs had eight turnovers that became seven Knicks points. San Antonio both took better care of the ball and got back in transition defense, resulting in the Spurs having more easy buckets.
• Better defense on KAT: San Antonio turned some of its defensive attention from Jalen Brunson (who is shooting 37% in this series and the Knicks are -13 for the series in his minutes) to Karl-Anthony Towns, who has been the hub of what has worked for New York. Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs were physical with him, not unlike how New York has been with Wembanyama. The result was 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting and much less impact (and the Knicks were still +6 in Towns' minutes in Game 3, and he is +31 now for the series).
• Spurs got into the paint. For two games, the term "spray" had entered the lexicon of Knicks fans as that's what Towns and Brunson were doing: Getting into the paint, then "spraying" the ball out to shooters. In Game 3, it was the Spurs getting into the paint and doing the damage (San Antonio sees it as a return to playing their way).
• Shooting. Mikal Bridges disappeared and was 1-of-5 from the floor. Landry Shamet was 1-of-7 from 3. Miles McBride only took two shots and missed them both. In the fourth quarter, Knicks not named Brunson or Anunoby shot 1-of-16. It's still a make-or-miss league and in Game 3 the Knicks missed. Call that an off night. If you want to speculate that the "it's a coronation" atmosphere at Madison Square Garden had something to do with it, go ahead, but the Knicks players would deny it. Who really knows why?
What we do know is the ball is now in the Knicks' court.
For the first time since April, the Knicks have lost a game, and the onus is now on them to adjust to a Spurs team we are watching grow and mature before our eyes. You can see the growth game-to-game. Brown and the Knicks are fully capable of countering that and retaking control of the series, but it's on them now to raise their game a level.
And that's not about the officiating.
COVERS INTEL: Giolito has walked 
