Knicks Coach Jabs Officiating After NBA Cup Heartbreaker

With his team denied the Las Vegas privilege, New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau took issue with the pit bosses overseeing the entrance.

The Knicks’ dreams of in-season glory ended on Wednesday night with a 108-100 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. With the loss, the Knicks (15-10) were eliminated in the quarterfinal round of the NBA Cup in-season competition, which will stage its semifinals on Saturday in Sin City.

Ousted in the quarterfinal round for the second time in as many editions, Thibodeau hinted in his postgame statements that metropoltan advancement was doomed from the start once he saw who was in charge.

“I just looked at who was refereeing,” a glum Thibodeau said, per Phillip Martinez of SNY. “I knew what it was going to be like.”

Knicks fans brought out their traditional hatred for Hawks star Trae Young, but official Jacyn Goble might be working his way up the franchise’s public enemies list: Goble is best-known in Knicks circles for a shooting foul call against Jalen Brunson in last season’s visit to Houston, one that allowed opponent Aaron Holiday to sink tiebreaking free throws in a narrow loss. The league ruled the call incorrect but denied a New York protest that would’ve forced an overtime session.

Accompanying Goble on Wednesday were Natalie Sago and Ben Taylor and the former’s presence has been a bad omen for New York since her 2018 debut: after Wednesday’s loss, the Knicks are 4-21 in games under her watch, by far the worst output among the Association’s 30.

The Knicks’ bench seemed particularly peeved when Miles McBride drew no foul amidst a physical tangle-up with Vit Krejci. McBride, already dealing with knee issues, was in noticeable pain after the encounter in Sago’s view and briefly retreated to the Knicks locker room. He viewed the finale from the bench but did not return to the floor.

Despite their frustration, the Knicks admitted that blue and orange was the real problem on Thursday, not black and white: despite another Karl-Anthony Towns showcase (19 points and rebounds each), New York lost the second half rebounding battle by 11 and let up 66 total points in the paint. A personal 8-0 run from Young gave the Hawks a permanent lead in the third, one that never got narrower than six once it reached double-figures.

“I thought [rebounding] was the difference in the game,” Thibodeau said, per James Edwards of The Athletic. “Missed shots are part of the game. You can still win with defense and rebounding.”

Denied a Vegas vacation, the Knicks (15-10) face a de facto consolation with the Orlando Magic on Sunday evening (6 p.m. ET, MSG).

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