Consistent, predictable and limited ticky tack calls. All we want lol

Just as playoff basketball should be reffed. Here’s to hoping they keep it up for the rest of the series.

But they kept Dort in check when he kept trying walk through Wemby’s back on the catch, knowing that if they let that slide the full backbreaker was coming up next.

The first like 6-8 minutes they called it really soft. Fixed up after that.

That’s pretty much all I can ask as a fan of one of these teams. Once you set the tone of how you want to call the game, make it consistent for both teams, and they did.

Really good job from them tonight

Finally! So we want to see is quality hard-nosed ball. Clearly both teams are capable when the whistle isn’t dependable!

Sga purposely swung his arm all the way around to hit wemby in the face and they didn’t give him a tech.

Ya that’s why Sga want very good tonight. When he doesn’t get every non foul foul he’s average

Zach Zarba is legit the only ref that stands out to me on how he almost always makes the right calls

This just means Tony Brothers is going to ruin game 2

He’s generally very good

Didn’t the players vote him the best in the league?

Best in the league

He’s one of like three refs that I know by name where it isn’t because they’re noticeably ruining games.

Unironically I have no social media I think of Zach Zarba as one of the few refs who doesn’t gamble while Tony Brothers obviously does.

100% best in the league

Fact that I don’t really know this guy’s name probably speaks volumes.

Only recognize Scott Foster and Tony Brothers.

In history, don’t even know more than 5. Dick Bavetta, Joey Crawford. Tim Donaghy.

This. Glad the talk will be about Wemby and not a controversial ref call. This is what we come to watch.

Yup. They could have called a push on Wemby on the play Harper called time out with 0.7 left. They could have called a foul on Caruso on the final lob.

No call was the right call on both those plays.

Oh, we’ll be back you haven’t seen the last of us. You think we’re going to let OKC go down 0-2 heading back to SA? I’m on the phone with Timmy D right now and I don’t mean the Big Fundamental. Kings fans recognize him as the Big Fuckyamental after all the psychologists they’ve met since 02’

That one referee survey on where they had Zach Zarba as the best referee in the league might’ve been onto something

It also meant a lot of pulling on wemby and holding him with screens. But it goes both ways.

Felt like a vintage classic game. Wish we could get more officiating like this.

Yep no complaints

The fact that half the game thread wasnt ref complaining like it usually is, is a testament to their solid work.

Streets are saying the only MVPs we saw on the court tonight

Yeah I’m fine with OKC hacking if ref lets them get hacked too. As long as they call it the same both ways just play on.

salute

This game makes the long 82 game sometimes tedious slugfest worth it. 

2 OTs and we weren’t just watching endless FTs and play stoppages.

This is how I was to. Im like come on thats not a foul or is a foul then they replay it and im like alright imma stfu

There were definitely a handful of by the book fouls both ways down the stretch. They hit the right balance of only calling the ones that needed to be called.

They did a really good job of not calling the soft shit late that is probably technically a foul.

Wemby fouled Chet on the rebound right before that, which also 100% should not have been called.

the pass was just too low and that’s why caruso managed to tip the ball aswell if he actually threw it up higher and he wouldnt have gotten any of the ball they maybe would have called it (but probably still no cause end of game)

Ur right, it could’ve been called a foul. But it was not egregious enough to be called to decide the game. This is where great referees are distinguished

Didn’t shoot well but 12 assists. If Caruso doesnt have the game of his life this game is spurs in regulation.

Losing a close game with your MVP playing bad scares the shit out of me. 😭😭

His game is mid range and drive to the rim. I mean it’s not even his fault. This is the series where wemby will be all over the rim, so it’s time for him to trust his teammates again. Will be fun to see what they come with to counter wemby in game 2.

Yep, nba most enjoyable when your favorite team isn’t playing 

Even in a perfectly officiated game, free throws will never be equal. Some teams play more aggresive.

Good officiating is when thunder lose

Absolute truth nuke

Yeah it would have because the Thunder have no paint presence in this series, they are going to have to win on 3 point shooting

Can’t get free throws if you pass away every time you drive at the paint.

when there’s a 10ft alien that you can’t guard and foul him on every single possession you’re gonna get called sometimes yea

every drive they look up and see something out of this planet so they kick it to caruso and hope he makes a 3, how are you gonna get a call like that lmao

i stg every post like this always has the one sarcastic thunders comment

and he was mauling everyone else, we can call it good

And he was holding Chet’s arms down on rebounds. It was called evenly. Relax.

They were bear hugging Shai off ball lol this happens in the playoffs

It was even both ways. That’s all people want

Yeah, each time they did that chant I thought “i get it, you are a home crowd, it’s your job to try and influence the refs, but this is one of the best called games I’ve ever seen.”

i think wcf is the real finals this year

As soon as 1st and 2nd seed were clinched we all knew this match up was coming, and my god it’s delivering

The only real flops I saw all game were by spurs players tbh. Just castle really 

I can’t honestly, let both teams play physically, we just missed shots + Shai and Chet looked lost out there

Just mad we wasted a Caruso legacy game

Yeah Caruso got away with a foul at the end of regulation too, and I thinkkkkk was out of bounds on that sweet save he had, before throwing it off of wemby

Literally everyone seems pleased but go off

Idk man, if I’m getting whacked in the face (twice in dylan harper’s case) I would like the refs to at least look it over