‘It felt like we were playing the ABs’: Kings coach’s shot at rough Breakers
The reverberations are still being felt from a tempestuous top-table Australian NBL clash at Spark Arena on Thursday night, with Sydney Kings coach Chase Buford labelling the Breakers the ‘‘All Blacks’’ for their roughhouse tactics, and his opposite Mody Maor challenging the league to look into a lopsided foul count.
The Kings won the game 88-81 to make it two wins from two at Spark over their Kiwi rivals for the 2022-23 season, cruising through the first three quarters and then, much as they did during the first clash on November 6, withstanding a finalquarter surge from the Breakers.
The victory tightened the Sydneysiders’ grip on top spot as they improved to 10-3 for the season, while the second-placed Breakers slipped a step closer to their closest pursuers as they dropped to 11-5 with a second straight home defeat.
However, it was the nature of the contest at a barely half-full Spark Arena that has become the big talking point as the Breakers sat on the wrong side of a 21-8 foul count against them that Buford claimed ‘‘chould have been double that’’.
It’s fair to say Maor does not share that view, first of all refusing to respond to Buford’s jibe that his team employed rugby-like physicality, and then making it clear that he expected the NBL to put the one-sided nature of the fouls called under the microscope. At halftime the count was 13-4 against the Breakers, and no fouls were called on the visitors over the entire third period as it stood at 19-4 at the three-quarter mark.
‘‘I thought our guys came out with the right mindset to play tonight, and handled the pressure for a lot of the night,’’ Buford said after the game. ‘‘It felt like we were playing the All Blacks out there tonight, [with] the physicality.
‘‘I know the foul count was heavily slanted one way, but it could have been double that. Honestly. Freedom of movement totally went out the window. Every player, they’re grabbing, holding every single time. On a screen, on a cut we just couldn’t move because they were holding us.
Remarkably, Buford even had a dig that the Breakers had got the benefit of the doubt from officials.
Told about Buford’s assertions, Maor was asked if his team had been overly physical.
‘‘No,’’ the Breakers coach said. ‘‘I think he’s trying to play into a narrative that I’m not playing into. They didn’t score 34 points (in the first quarter) against an overly physical team.’’
Maor was seething after the game and could not hide his frustration with the officiating, but refrained from making any public comment about the way the fouls were called.
Breakers star Barry Brown Jr was not so disciplined during the game, receiving a technical and stern warning in the second half after having plenty to say to officials when being whistled for his third foul that turned into his fourth. One media outlet reported Brown could face league action for what he said to the referees.
The Breakers did not lose the game because of the officiating. They came out passively and fell into an early hole (trailing 34-25 after one and 54-42 at halftime) that left them too much to do over the run home. They were also smashed 41-27 on the boards and conceded 17 points off turnovers.