NBA fans think ref David Guthrie encouraged the Nuggets to challenge a late controversial call

The challenge was unsuccessful.

During the fourth quarter of a competitive NBA Finals Game 5 match between the Nuggets and the Heat, something unusual happened.

Miami’s Jimmy Butler kicked his leg out on a 3-point attempt and on the possession, Denver’s Aaron Gordon was called for a foul. This was a bit of a surprising call, but even more shocking was that in the immediate aftermath, ESPN’s Jeff Van Gundy noticed something you don’t see very often.

Van Gundy says that he saw NBA referee David Guthrie encourage Nuggets head coach Mike Malone to challenge the call on the field that was made by the officials.

Yet after the replay review, the call was not actually overturned.

The video replay was reviewed by NBA referee Scott Foster.

[affiliatewidget_deal5]