What's important is that the officiating standard stays consistent.
You can't be strict with one team and loose with another, or loose in the first half and suddenly tight in the second half.
And today's referees have maintained a consistent standard from start to finish; they've been encouraging physical play all day, so there's no issue with Roger knocking down Harper just now.
As Riley was getting hot under the collar, he saw Roger waving at him from a short distance away: "Pat, I'm really sorry."
This was in response to Riley having said the same thing to Roger after winning twice before, "Kid, I'm really sorry."
"I'm going to kill that bastard, I swear I'm going to kill him!" Riley lost his composure for the first time on the court, his suit and hair now a complete mess.
Jeff Van Gundy continued to pull hard on Riley: "Let it go, Pat. You don't want to have titanium alloy planted in your eyes, do you?"
That calmed Riley down.
