Phoenix Suns big man Jusuf Nurkic broke the franchise record for most rebounds in a single game when he grabbed 31 boards – the most in an NBA game in 14 years – during a 118-110 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday. But instead of relishing in his impressive accomplishment, the Bosnian center was more focused on what he considered to be missed foul calls on the part of the officials.
"I don't know, man, I'm just trying to do my role the best I can. But it's kind of really messed up when you have 13 offensive rebounds and 16 shots, then zero free throws," Nurkic said. "As hard as I work, and I feel like [I'm] getting fouled as [much as] anybody in the league."
There were certainly instances of Nurkic being met with contact when he went up for a rebound, especially on the offensive glass, but a whistle was never blown. And while you may assume that because Nurkic isn't a star player in the league he isn't going to get the friendliest of whistles, Suns coach Frank Vogel also took issue with the lack of foul calls specifically on Kevin Durant.
"We've got to be better," Vogel said. "[But] I'll start by saying they fouled the s--- out of Kevin Durant all night. Whether he has the ball and he's getting stripped three, four, maybe even five times, and every time he tries to get open, he's being held, which is something I really want the league to look at."
Durant ranks 17th in the league in free-throw attempts with 6.4 a night, and while he got to that total against OKC, Vogel felt like K.D. should have had more trips to the charity stripe. As a team, the Suns rank third in the league in free-throw attempts per game with 25.3. Against the Thunder, they totaled just 18. But it wasn't as if it was a one-sided whistle, as the Thunder only attempted 15 free throws on the night. But clearly, Vogel felt like there should've been more foul calls all around.
Despite that, the Suns struggled heavily to take care of the ball, committing 21 turnovers. They commit the fourth-most turnovers in the league, and the Thunder certainly took advantage of that, building up to a 24-point lead before the Suns fought back to lose by single digits. So even if there were more foul calls it wouldn't have solved all of Phoenix's problems, especially in a game that they were without Devin Booker who is expected to be sidelined for at least a week with an ankle sprain.
But with both Vogel and Nurkic criticizing the officiating it wouldn't be surprising to see both of them given fines by the league in a couple days.
