The NBA officially announced today that Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka has been fined $25,000 for publicly criticizing referees after a recent game against the Denver Nuggets.

The penalty decision was officially announced by James Jones, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations at the NBA. The incident stemmed from a game played in Denver on December 15th, in which the Rockets narrowly lost to the Nuggets 125-128.

After the match, Udoka was furious at the press conference, stating that it was the worst officiating he had seen in a long time. He not only criticized the head referee for behaving like a fanboy, but also pointed out that two of the referees were completely unfit to officiate on the field.

"You can see all sorts of inconsistent calls, and I'm sure we should have gotten more technical penalties," Udoka said, believing the referee's mistakes cost the team a chance.

It's worth noting that the NBA's Final Two-Minute Referee Report, released before the fine announcement, somewhat corroborated Udoka's anger. The report showed that three crucial incorrect calls did occur during overtime, all of which benefited the Nuggets:

1. A foul by Denver Nuggets player Tim Hardaway Jr. was missed;

2. A foul was wrongly called on Rockets player Armen Thompson;

3. A foul was wrongly called on Rockets star Kevin Durant.

These two incorrect calls directly gave the Nuggets four free throw opportunities, which Jokic and Murray made steadily, extending the lead to 6 points in the final moments of the game and completely killing any suspense.

Despite the referee report confirming multiple incorrect calls, the league maintained a firm stance against Udoka's public statements. This move once again demonstrates the NBA's zero-tolerance policy towards coaches and teams publicly criticizing referees, and also sets a clear line for teams when expressing dissatisfaction.