"I'm disgusted" - Pistons HC sends no-holds-barred message to NBA after Cade Cunningham's ejection leads to loss against OKC

Cade Cunningham was ejected in the third quarter of the Detroit Pistons' 113-107 loss to the OKC Thunder on Saturday night. Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff went on a tirade after the game, calling out officials for not giving his team the respect they deserved.

Bickerstaff felt slighted after the referees disqualified Cunningham in the third quarter. The Pistons star was called for a technical foul after arguing with an official regarding a previous call. He continued to speak with the official and was promptly removed from the contest.

In his postgame press conference, Bickerstaff only entertained one question, which pertained to the officiating. He described the crew's job in the game as "disgusting" for their calls all night.

"I'm disgusted by the way that game was officiated," Bickerstaff said. "The level of disrespect was above and beyond. 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 to at least take a look at it, just to show as the respect, no one would take a look at it.

He added:

"The disrespect has gone far enough, and I'm not going to allow our guys to be treated the way they were tonight. ... What you saw tonight was a disgusting display of disrespect towards our guys and what were trying to do."

The game's crew chief Brian Forte explained to the press why Cade Cunningham was ejected. The Detroit Pistons star was initially given a technical foul for showing "disrespect" towards an official, while the second one was called because Cunningham used profanity.

Pistons fans pointed out that Forte, who ejected Cunningham, might have felt slighted after getting corrected by the one-time All-Star. The young star argued that players can line up at the free-throw line, as the call was overturned from flagrant to common foul.

J.B. Bickerstaff will likely get fined for his comments toward the referees, while the NBA hasn't shown any inclination to address problems with officials this season.

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Cade Cunningham scored 11 points before ejection

Cade Cunningham scored 11 points before ejection. (Photo: IMAGN)

Before his ejection, Cade Cunningham was struggling from the floor as the Detroit Pistons were trying to keep up with the OKC Thunder. He had 11 points on 5-for-20 shooting before his disqualification.

The one-time All-Star also had seven rebounds and nine assists. Tobias Harris and Dennis Schroder picked up the slack for the Pistons. Harris had 18 points and seven rebounds, while Schroder put up 17 points, three rebounds and 11 assists off the bench.

Meanwhile, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 48 points, four rebounds and six assists to lead the Thunder.