Tom Thibodeau focuses on referees after heartbreaking loss: ‘It was hard to tell what a foul was’

Tom Thibodeau focused on inconsistent officiating after the Knicks’ gut wrenching defeat Monday to the Raptors, using enough ambiguities to avoid a fine but delivering a clear message about his unhappiness. Julius Randle, who took nine free throws, wasn’ t following his coach down this road. “A six free-throw difference is not too crazy,” said Randle, who committed...

Tom Thibodeau focused on inconsistent officiating after the Knicks’ gut wrenching defeat Monday to the Raptors, using enough ambiguities to avoid a fine but delivering a clear message about his unhappiness.

“I don’t really care if a game’s called tight or if it’s called loose. I just want consistency,” Thibodeau said after the Knicks fell in overtime, 123-121. “That’s what I look for. And so, it was physical. It was. There was a lot going on. And so again, I wanna watch to make sure I saw what I thought I saw.”

Earlier, Thibodeau said “it was hard to tell what a foul was” when listing the reasons for defeat. Despite Thibodeau’s obvious issues, the foul-shot discrepancy was hardly glaring — the Knicks attempted 35 foul shots to Toronto’s 41.

Julius Randle, who took nine free throws, wasn’t following his coach down this road.

“A six free-throw difference is not too crazy,” said Randle, who committed the most consequential foul of the evening when he was whistled for shoving Scottie Barnes on a rebound attempt with 6.1 seconds left in regulation.

Still, Thibodeau probably has a point about one overtime call. With 3:30 remaining in overtime, Jalen Brunson was whistled for a foul on Fred VanVleet despite being pushed into the contact by another Raptors player.

Thibodeau challenged the foul but it was upheld. The Raptors scored five straight points and took control of OT.

“I don’t know [if they missed the call],” Thibodeau said. “You guys saw. Write what you see.”

Brunson also avoided a fine.

“I think it was Scottie [Barnes] that bumped me into [VanVleet],” Brunson said. “They felt otherwise, and that was that.”

GARDEN TRADITION

The Knicks played more games on MLK Day — 37 — than any other franchise. They’re also successful, this year notwithstanding, with a 23-14 record.

BRUNSON HONORED

Brunson beat out teammate Randle for the Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors, becoming the first Knick to win the award since Kemba Walker’s very brief Christmas redemption tour last season.

For the week ending Sunday, Brunson averaged 34.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5 assists as the Knicks went 4-1. Randle, who was among the nominations for Player of the Week, averaged 26 points and 15.8 rebounds in the same stretch. He won the award twice during the 2020-21 season.

Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis was the Western Conference Player of the Week.

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