Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams held back the best he could in the post-game press conference after game 4 against the New Orleans Pelicans. His Suns fell 118-103 and there was one stat that stuck out to him the most.

“42-to-15 in free throws. You can slice that any way you want to,” Williams told reporters. “In a playoff game that physical, that's amazing. Coaches shouldn't have to come up to the microphone and feel like they're going to get their heads cut off for speaking the truth. It was 17-to-2 in the first half and they end up with 42. That's hard to do in a game like that. And it's not like we don't attack the basket.”

Phoenix was in foul trouble all night. Four Suns — Chris Paul, Cam Johnson, Javale McGee and Jae Crowder — finished with four or more fouls. Crowder had five. The Pelicans were 32-of-42 from the free-throw line Sunday night, good for 76.2%.

“Look, [the Pelicans] outplayed us. They deserved to win,” Williams said. “That's a free-throw disparity that you have to look at.”

Williams received a technical foul in the fourth quarter after arguing an out-of-bounds call.

“When I got the technical — I've looked at a number of angles on that call,” he said. “Jae [Crowder] hit the ball, it hit Ingram's leg, and Jae [Crowder's] hand hit his thigh after he hit the ball and the ball was gone. So I'm like, what do you do?”

The low free-throw totals are nothing new for Williams' Suns. Phoenix ranked 27th in the NBA in free-throw attempts per game with 19.9.

The series is now tied 2-2, with pivotal Game 5 set for Tuesday night back in Phoenix.