JJ Redick erupted at referee Ben Taylor late in the first quarter Thursday night, earning a technical foul after the Los Angeles Lakers believed Austin Reaves was hacked on consecutive possessions with no whistle. The frustration carried extra weight because Redick had already hinted at the officiating challenge that comes with facing Oklahoma City. “They don’t foul, so the whistles aren’t gonna be there,” Redick said after practice a few days ago, offering what sounded like both gamesmanship and a backhanded compliment to the Thunder’s defensive discipline.

While the 41-year-old understood the Lakers might not get favorable whistles, he clearly didn’t expect things to feel this one-sided. Even LeBron James and Luka Doncic appeared stunned by some of the calls and non-calls going OKC’s way.

With 1:26 remaining in the opening quarter at Paycom Center, the tension finally boiled over after the Thunder supposedly got away with fouling Reaves on back-to-back possessions. Following a timeout, the Lakers coach grabbed Jaxson Hayes to physically demonstrate the contact Oklahoma City was avoiding, for which it was allegedly avoiding penalties. Redick then stormed toward Taylor and got directly in the referee’s face while raging about the sequence, prompting an immediate technical foul as the Lakers’ bench continued protesting the no-calls.

Another thing to note is that the Thunder had a 10-0 run in the last 2:24, which prompted the timeout in the first place. JJ Redick was so angry that players, including Luka Doncic, who was dressed in casuals, had to intervene to stop him. The frustration of the second-year coach turned to amusement when another call didn’t go their way.

LeBron James, who became the first player in NBA history to reach 300 postseason games, had complaints on his historic night. In the second quarter, he was called for a charging foul on former teammate Alex Caruso. And the reaction summed up why the Lakers actually had a tough day with the officials.

LeBron James got a foul for running in a straight line as the Thunder guard’s foot was not planted. Bron was upset after picking up an offensive foul. Luka Doncic was flailing his arms in disbelief while JJ Redick had a smirk on his face. All of which indicates that they were unhappy with the call. James even confronted the official John Goble, but it was to no avail. The 41-year-old even urged his coach to challenge the play, but it didn’t happen. The frustration from the 4x NBA champion also boiled over after another first-quarter incident.

The Lakers star spun baseline against Luguentz Dort and scored over a late contest from Jaylin Williams. The refs missed a clear and-1 foul as OKC’s big man made contact on Bron’s hands. This did not sit well with James, who decided to stare menacingly at referee Mark Lindsay. With multiple calls not going in the Lakers’ favor, it was clear their frustration had no limits. That’s why previously, the Purple and Gold head coach called out 29 other coaches to find a common ground.

In January, Redick said, “I got an admission from them,” explaining that the officiating crew acknowledged a poor start to the game. “It’s just for whatever reason, and you’d have to ask probably the other 29 coaches, but it feels like the inconsistency night-to-night within a game has been there for most of these crews.”

JJ Redick got support from the commentary over a missed call

In the first quarter, Smart ran the ball and passed it to Deandre Ayton inside, who was ready to win the defensive battle with Chet Holmgren. But that’s when he was called for an offensive foul for his apparent hit on the face of the Thunder star. DA was pleading, and JJ Redick used his coach’s challenge, which was successful. This again highlighted the refs’ flaw.

“Big time acting job by Chet Holmgren,” said Stan Van Gundy. “He did not get hit anywhere near the throat or the face, above the shoulders. That’s an absolute flop. I hope they don’t give him this call. Because we need to get rid of the flops.”

The officials, after review, stated that Holmgren grabbed Ayton’s right arm with both hands before contact to the face. But they failed to acknowledge that there was no hit on the face. However, it led to JJ Redick successfully challenging the offensive foul on Deandre Ayton to a defensive foul on Chet Holmgren.

A successful challenge meant that the refs missed it the first time and called it wrong. Apart from this, the Lakers faced many calls that didn’t go their way, and that’s why the frustration reached a boiling point during the timeout.