Most coaches save their fury for the referees, but Ime Udoka isn’t most coaches, and his outbursts spill over towards opposition players. Jalen Brunson got a piece of the coach’s fury after the Rockets lost a thriller against the Knicks on Saturday.

The Rockets had blown away their double-digit lead in the fourth quarter with a disastrous performance on both ends. The Rockets coach, who was already in distress in the last minutes of the game, lost his cool after a game-changing defensive play from Jalen Brunson.

With just over 40 seconds remaining in the game and the score tied at 103, Alperen Sengun blocked Jose Alvarado’s shot attempt. After Jabari Smith secured the rebound, Kevin Durant sprinted downcourt in transition but was intercepted by Jalen Brunson. The Knicks star fell to the ground, and referee Sean Wright ruled it an offensive foul.

Outraged Ime Udoka called for a review as he walked onto the court. Udoka’s challenge failed, and to make it worse for him, Brunson gave the Knicks a 105-103 lead in the next possession. Udoka’s team lost the contest by 108-106. The visibly upset Rockets coach also had some words for Brunson.

“Floppin a– sh—,” Rockets reporter Chancellor Johnson claimed the Rockets coach said.

Ime Udoka’s infamous courtside exchange with LeBron James resulted in his ejection and remains a telling part of his coaching. Jalen Brunson has also successfully rattled the coach, but truth be told, this defeat was much more about the shortcomings of the Rockets.

The Rockets’ loss was more about the collapse of Ime Udoka’s squad

While Udoka’s outburst made headlines, the real story from Saturday night was the Rockets’ stunning collapse at Madison Square Garden. In the first three quarters, the Rockets were in full control of the game, building a 16-point lead before entering the last period. With a comfortable lead, Udoka decided to give some rest to Durant. 

However, just when the Rockets got comfortable, the Knicks’ offense went berserk, and it was brutal. With his 37-year-old star on the bench, Udoka gave the primary offensive load to Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard. Within five minutes, the Knicks crowd that was booing its own team was on its feet, infusing its energy into its players. The result was on the scoreboard. New York was on a 16-6 run in the first minutes of the quarter. 

However, not to discredit the Knicks’ last quarter resilience, but the game was more about the collapse of the Houston Rockets’ defense and offense at the same time. In the fourth quarter, the Rockets had not just allowed the most points in all quarters, but also shot awfully in the next 12 minutes. They made just 27.8% of their field goal attempts. Even worse, they committed nine turnovers in the quarter, which, by the way, the Knicks converted into 15 points. Just to put it into perspective, almost half of the Knicks’ points in the last quarter (33) had come from turnovers.

The Rockets have been bad in road games throughout the season. It was Ime Udoka’s 14th loss in the 30 games they have been on the road, the weakest record from the top five teams in the West. Perhaps Udoka would want to fix it before the playoffs begin.