You know there’s a real problem at hand if a moment from after the game supersedes the actual game. Game 2 on Thursday left the Los Angeles Lakers frustrated by the officiating, but it was LA’s emotional postgame confrontation with the referees that stole the show inside Paycom Center. But it’s been a few days, and we’re now on the cusp of the Purple and Gold getting blown out, so why is everybody still stuck at this? That’s because NBA Senior VP and Head of Referee Development Monty McCutchen has given rare answers about officiating that’s been viewed as biased and incomprehensible at times.

One such moment occurred during a jump ball between Austin Reaves and Cason Wallace. Reaves attempted to shift his position to guard the OKC player. With multiple players in constant motion, the referee struggled to maintain control and ended up yelling in the Lakers star’s face, which the player found disrespectful and troubling. And while he was candid about his sentiments towards the decision-makers after the game, it’s now McCutchen’s turn.

“I do think that had a look to it, but there wasn’t a ton of profanity or anything like that. It was out of the ordinary, there’s no doubt about that,” Monty McCutchen told ESPN. “Austin [Reaves] was in control, John [Goble] did a good job of letting him hear his peace. There were a couple of plays at the end of that game that lived on the nuances of our rules… I can understand in the passion of that moment the disagreement from a team. If there is meaningful conversation after, and it’s not out of control, and in this situation it was not, we want to make sure on our end we are not defensive and willing to listen.”

McCutchen also added the human element to the discussion. “Referees are not perfect this time of the year, and every championship run involves overcoming mistakes by the referees.” He did not have a problem with multiple players, including guys off the bench, huddled around the refs at midcourt after the game, because the two main people, Reaves and Goble, had a very civil conversation. This particular line backs what the Lakers’ star guard had said previously.

“I felt like I was respectful to all of them all night, a million times in the past, I’ve said way worse stuff,” Reaves said. “When we were doing the whole tip ball, and they were switching spots, I wanted to get on the other side because they had a guy on the other side, was just trying to keep an advantage. And he turned around and yelled in my face…I just thought it was disrespectful.” This also summarized how the Lakers felt after not getting many whistles in their favor.

Head coach JJ Redick got a technical foul in the second frame for aggressively charging at an official during a timeout. James aired his grievances multiple times after sustaining enough punishment from the Thunder players. After the game, he was just quiet rather than going down that Devin Booker route.

The league has issued fines previously, such as during the 2022 playoffs when the Dallas Mavericks paid a total of $175,000 for multiple, escalating violations of bench decorum rules. These regulations exist to prevent players from crowding officials and to specifically stop the kind of pile-ups that occurred after the horn in Game 2. However, while the Lakers were voicing their complaints, OKC players watched the scene with amusement. That’s a rather telling sign that something much larger than McCutchen issuing a statement is at play.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander jokingly wanted a meeting like the Austin Reaves one…

So, both the Lakers and Thunder felt certain calls went against them. For the Thunder, their current MVP received a flagrant foul call that he believed was inaccurate. Even OKC head coach Mark Daigneault had his own frustrations. Consequently, when Lakers players, led by Austin Reaves, gathered around the officials, SGA found the situation amusing. Senior reporter Sam Amick was courtside and revealed that the media seats gave him the best view of the drama.

Amick “heard every single word,” including the NSFW comments from Austin Reaves. But that was not his favorite part…

“My favorite part was the Thunder were watching all the Lakers around the refs and having a little bit of FOMO, clearly,” Amick said on Run It Back. “And then Shai, I could hear him. He looks at, I think, Ben Taylor, and he kind of shouts,’ Hey, Ben, can we get a meeting too?’” He called the entire drama “crazy.”

That moment summed up the atmosphere after Game 2: both teams were unhappy with the whistle, but the Lakers were far more vocal afterward. And despite the dramatic optics, McCutchen’s comments suggest the NBA saw the exchange as emotional but ultimately professional, making more punishment unlikely.