The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Phoenix Suns 120-107 on Wednesday night in Game 2 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series at Paycom Center, taking a 2-0 lead. The result was overshadowed by postgame comments from Devin Booker regarding a controversial technical foul.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 37 points and nine assists, while the Thunder shot 47.3% and forced 21 turnovers. Phoenix was led by Dillon Brooks with 30 points, while Booker finished with 22 in the loss.
The key postgame storyline centered on Booker’s reaction to a technical foul he received during a sequence involving saving the ball. He questioned the lack of explanation from officials and the broadcast confusion surrounding the call.
“I still haven’t got one,” the Suns star said when asked if he received an explanation from the game officials.
Booker continued to question how the decision was made and referenced outside influence on the call. He also pointed to communication during the moment involving a Suns teammate and an opposing player.
“I heard Caruso tell him to call the tech, and he ended up doing it.”
He then escalated his criticism of the officiating standard during the game, directly naming one official and describing the broader impact on the league’s credibility.
“That’s one ref. In my 11 years, I haven’t called a ref out by name, but James was terrible tonight. Through and through. It’s bad for the sport, bad for the integrity of the sport.”
Booker added that the situation reflected poorly on how the game is perceived on a national stage.
“People are going to start viewing this as a WWE if they’re not held responsible.”
He also highlighted inconsistency across similar plays, referencing an offensive foul involving Alex Caruso and a later shooting motion call against him.
“Then the very next play I got called for unnatural shooting motion that hit Caruso, but Caruso is moving forward on that.”
Booker suggested that the league should review comparable plays side by side to assess consistency in officiating decisions.
“If that’s unnatural shooting motion compared to what guys are doing to get fouls nowadays, you can play them side by side. I’ll let you guys be the judge. Pull the clips, run it back.”
The Suns guard also expressed frustration that the sequence occurred during a high-profile playoff broadcast.
“I’m surprised this is happening on national TV in playoff games… It’s hard. It just feels disrespectful.”
He emphasized his experience in the league while noting the rarity of his public criticism of officiating.
“I know I haven’t won a championship in this league, but I have been in it for 11 years now. To get to this point and be treated like that, for me to even be saying something out loud is bad.”
When asked about speaking publicly on referees for the first time in his career, Booker acknowledged the significance of the moment.
“It’s my first time in 11 years, but it’s needed. Whatever I get fined for, everybody can pull the clips and see where the frustration comes from.”
Booker also addressed how the modern game has evolved and how players attempt to draw fouls in different ways.
“It has changed, but the evolution of the game, guys have gotten more creative to put the refs in a tough spot to force them to make calls.”
He concluded by reiterating that the contested technical foul remains unclear to him after reviewing the sequence.
“The frustration is the controllables. That technical foul that Caruso called for the refs, I just played it back and watched the video. I still don’t understand.”
The series now shifts to Phoenix for Game 3, where the Suns will look to respond after falling behind 2-0.
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