Russell Westbrook on Carmelo Anthony's Ejection: 'It's a Bunch of Bulls--t'

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook called the officiating from Sunday night's game between the Thunder and Portland Trail Blazers "a bunch of bulls--t," via House of Highlights (NSFW):

In particular, Westbrook referenced two moments from the game: Carmelo Anthony being called for a flagrant-2 foul and being ejected in the third quarter after he hit Jusuf Nurkic with his elbow while he was attempting a layup with both hands on the ball, and an incident from earlier in the quarter when Westbrook was hit in the face while attempting to slide past a pick but the referees didn't call a foul or review the play.

"They don't referee the same way all the time," Westbrook noted. "They pick and choose when they want to do it, which is not fair, in my opinion. I've been in this league for awhile and I'm able to see it and understand it and what's right and what's wrong. And I can see it's blatant. S--t that's not getting looked at, in my opinion."

Not surprisingly, the rest of the Thunder likewise weren't pleased with the officiating.

"I thought that play should've been reviewed," head coach Billy Donovan said of Westbrook being hit in the face, per Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman. "It may have proven nothing, but I think when someone gets hit in the face and goes down to the floor and you gotta call a timeout, you should at least review it just to make sure. I don't know why they reviewed the other one. Maybe whoever it was, Nurkic, whoever it was, stayed down longer. I probably didn't ask Russell to stay down on the court long enough to get it reviewed."

Paul George agreed with Westbrook's assertion that the referees have been inconsistent in how they call fouls on the Thunder compared to other teams.

"Especially for Russ," George noted. "So many of his plays at the rim are questionable, and he’s not getting the benefit of the doubt."

The Thunder are currently 25th in the NBA in free throws attempted, at 19 per game.

As for the Anthony decision, however, the referees stood by their decision to call a flagrant-2.

"We deemed that the contact was excessive and that it was not a natural basketball move where he seeks out Nurkic, hits him in the face with an elbow and goes back to the basket," crew chief Rodney Mott said, per Dawson. "So because it's unnatural and it's deemed excessive, therefore it is a flagrant foul penalty two."

The NBA traditionally has not looked favorably upon public questioning of referee decisions or questioning the integrity of the officials, so Westbrook is likely looking at a fine for his comments. While Westbrook and Donovan may have a point—it seemed odd to a review a play in which Anthony made a bucket and Nurkic was initially called for the foul, but not review a play in which Westbrook was clearly hit in the face—the nature of Westbrook's complaints after the game may come with a hefty cost.