The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Detroit Pistons 113-107 on Saturday night in what was a very frustrating game for the Pistons.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 48 points and shot 10 free throws, which was only part of it. Two of those free throws came late in the third quarter as Cade Cunningham was ejected after he had some choice words for the referees in the wake of an official review of Lu Dort falling down. You can watch things escalate in real-time right here:
Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff kept his composure at the time, but he could not contain himself after the game as he sat at the podium and addressed the media. Bickerstaff repeatedly said he was "disgusted" by the officiating and made a passionate case for his team to get some respect from the league. As he went on he became more and more frustrated until he started pounding the table. At that point he crumpled up a piece of paper, threw it at the microphone and walked away.
JB Bickerstaff RIPPED the refs and it got him to even slam the table and throw away the box score sheet 👀 pic.twitter.com/yOHL2UMyby
— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) March 16, 2025
"The level of disrespect was above and beyond," said Bickerstaff. "They have a guy fall down and trip on his own teammate's foot. They review us for a hostile act. They throw an elbow to our chest and neck area, I ask for them to at least take a look at it. Just show us the respect to take a look at it. O.K. No one would take a look at it. The disrespect has gone far enough.
"We deserve a level of respect because we're competing our tails off and bringing something positive to this league," Bickerstaff continued. "Right? We're growing young players. Our young players are competing their tails off. The least that they could do is get the same respect that everybody else in this league gets and get refereed the same way that everybody else in this league gets! And enough is enough of it! And what you saw tonight was disgusting. It was a disgusting display of disrespect towards our guys and what we're trying to do."
An emotional end to an emotional night for the Pistons who lost their second straight game. Bickerstaff will definitely be hearing from the league after this performance.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as J.B. Bickerstaff Unleashes Fiery Rant on Officiating Leaving Crumpled Box Score in His Wake.
