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The NBA seems to be listening to the long-standing criticisms of referees being too harsh with foul calls. There was a time when they would call techs for seemingly nothing, but the league office admitted wrongdoing with Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson's recent incidents.
It rescinded the technical foul called on Durant with 1:25 left in the second quarter of the Phoenix Suns' 127-109 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday, via NBA insider Marc Stein. Ditto for Thompson's with 10:07 left in the second quarter of the Dallas Mavericks' 126-102 loss to the Golden State Warriors the same day.
Thompson was upset with the officials for not calling the foul on Brandin Podziemski on his three-point attempt, and even jawed with them through the next possession, via Sports Illustrated. There are times when players complain about calls too much, but this one was justified.
Durant's was similar, and Suns coach Mike Budenholzer didn't mince words about it, via The Arizona Republic's Duane Rankin.
"We've just got to keep staying together."
Mike Budenholzer after Suns fall, 127-109, to Toronto on Sunday in 2nd of back-to-back.
On his tech in reaction to Kevin Durant non-call: "Just got blatantly fouled. Got raked across his arm. That's not a very difficult call." #Suns pic.twitter.com/cyWacCrMVj
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) February 24, 2025
“Just got blatantly fouled. Got raked across his arm,” he said. “That's not a very difficult call.”
The referees have a tough job, so they'll always miss some calls. However, t'ing up players for correctly arguing with them is an abuse of power, and it's never good for optics.
Losing also exacerbates players' frustrations, and both Durant and Thompson were on the wrong end of blowouts. Durant, though, took accountability despite the missed call, via Rankin.
"I got to come with it if I want us to win. If we want us to win, I've got to come better than what I did tonight."
Kevin Durant after 15-point effort on 5-of-15 FGs in Suns loss to Raptors. #Suns pic.twitter.com/t9DCCrE35k
— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) February 24, 2025
“I got to come with it if I want us to win,” the future Hall of Famer said. “If we want us to win, I've got to come better than what I did tonight.”
Durant had one of his worst offensive games of the season, scoring 15 points (5-15 FG, 0-5 3 PT) with four rebounds, four assists, three blocks and three steals across 40 minutes. The Suns (27-30) need the “Slim Reaper” to play like his prime self every night in order to secure a Play-In spot, as they're 1.5 games behind the Sacramento Kings (28-28) for the Western Conference's 10th seed.
