NBA players add to chorus of refereeing complaints on Twitter

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Monday, April 29, 2019

To say the officiating was a topic of discussion during Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals series between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets on Sunday would be an epic understatement. The two teams were called for a combined 45 personal fouls and four technical fouls, and Chris Paul was ejected with 4.4 seconds left in the game. That continued a trend this postseason of things getting testy between players, coaches and officials.

The players on the court weren't the only ones complaining. Multiple players chimed in on Twitter with both specific and general observations. Brooklyn Nets forward Jared Dudley pointed out that Chris Paul should've drawn a foul call on a specific shot late in the third quarter.

Dudley was joined by Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, who pointed out that his team didn't get the same leeway during their first-round series against the same Rockets shooters, drawing jokes from his Jazz teammates about potential fines from the league.

Not surprisingly, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban chimed in, as did Rockets GM Daryl Morey. As Gobert alluded to, both could be in line for a fine, which is what happened to Nets co-owner Joe Tsai in the first round, after he backed GM Sean Marks, who was suspended for entering the officials' locker room after a game.

As for how the Rockets and Warriors should deal with the officiating in Game 2 and the rest of the series, retired center Kendrick Perkins had one idea for what they should focus on going forward.

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