Officials Stand By Late-Game Call On Eric Gordon In Rockets Loss vs. Kings
HOUSTON — Eric Gordon was called for a shooting foul on De'Aaron Fox with 0.3 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
At the time, the Houston Rockets held a 128-127 lead over the Sacramento Kings. But following Fox's three free throws, the Rockets sustained a 130-128 loss to the Kings Wednesday night inside the Toyota Center.
Gediminas Petraitis, the Crew Chief Official, reassured during the NBA's Pool Report that Gordon's lower body came in contact with Fox on his shot attempt. Petraitis said there was no doubt in the call. But Gordon did not agree.
"I went to go avoid it," Gordon said. "It'd be different if I was running into him, but the video shows."
Fox added: "He definitely got me on my back. I told him I put that on everything, he got me. They couldn't challenge it so it doesn't matter, just gonna have to step up and make free throws — and we did."
Coach Stephen Silas described the late-game call as disappointing, given how well the Rockets responded following their embarrassing outing Wednesday night.
The Rockets had five players who scored in double-figures, with Jalen Green scoring a game-high 41 points on 14-of-22 shooting, 6-of-9 from behind the arc.
Fox finished with 31 points on the night.
"We responded very good," Gordon said. "We played the game that we were supposed to play, we stayed in it and were up the majority of the game. That's how we should play, and I think we gotta understand that's how we should play moving forward and that's the only way our guys are going to get better."
You can follow Coty M. Davis on Twitter at @CotyDavis_24
Want the latest in news and insider information on the Houston Rockets? Click here
Follow Inside the Rockets on Facebook here
Make sure to subscribe to our weekly podcast Bleav In The Rockets today! Click here To Listen.
Follow Inside the Rockets on Twitter @InsideRocketsFN
