Tag: Last Two Minutes

NBA acknowledges three blown officiating calls late in Rockets-Nets game

In its Last Two Minutes report, the NBA acknowledged three missed calls in the final seven seconds of Saturday’s Rockets-Nets game.

To no surprise, the NBA acknowledged a series of blown calls in the closing seconds of Saturday’s game at Barclays Center between the Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets, who emerged victorious.

The officiating mistakes were clarified in the league’s official Last Two Minutes (L2M) report, which is automatically issued the next day for all games at or within three points during last two minutes of a fourth quarter (and overtime period, when applicable).

The most visible error occurred with 5.0 seconds left, when the Rockets trailed, 103-102, and Jalen Green tied up Brooklyn’s Cam Thomas for what appeared to be a jump ball. Instead, the officials called Green for a foul, and Thomas sank both free throws to put the Nets up by three. Houston’s broadcast crew was incredulous.

However, the L2M report also cited two mistakes in the final seconds that the league says went in Houston’s direction. Before that jump ball, the NBA says Amen Thompson should have been called for an away-from-the-play foul versus Thomas prior to the inbound pass. That would have given sent Brooklyn to the free-throw line, up one.

Finally, with 3.8 seconds left in the game, the report says Fred VanVleet should have been called for a lane violation when he intentionally missed his second of two free throws, which occurred with Houston trailing by two points. “VanVleet steps over the free-throw line before the shot touches the backboard,” the report reads.

Had that been whistled, Brooklyn would have received possession of the ball, leading by two points. Without the whistle, the Nets ended up being called for a loose ball foul against Alperen Sengun on the rebound sequence. Sengun then had an opportunity to tie the game, but he missed one of two free throws, and the Nets held on to win.

The complete L2M report for Saturday’s game is available here. Videos of the three disputed calls are posted below.

In Clippers’ late rally, NBA says two errant calls harmed Rockets

In Friday’s close loss at Los Angeles, the NBA determined that two errant calls harmed the Rockets and helped the Clippers during the final two minutes.

For the final two minutes of the fourth quarter (and overtime, when applicable) of games at or within three points, the NBA releases a “Last Two Minute” review of all officiated events. The plays assessed include all calls (whistles) and notable non-calls.

On Saturday, the league’s analysis determined multiple errant calls harmed the Houston Rockets a night earlier.

In Houston’s 106-100 road loss at Los Angeles, the Clippers finished Friday’s game on a 12-1 run. In postgame interviews, the Rockets were frustrated by their inability to score late in the game.

As it turns out, the Clippers’ defense had a bit of help. In its postgame officiating analysis, the league determined James Harden fouled Alperen Sengun with 1:39 remaining and Kawhi Leonard fouled Jalen Green with 49.2 seconds left. Neither was called, and Houston — holding a slim lead at the time — did not score on either trip.

The second missed call led directly to a turnover, and the Clippers (4-7) promptly took the lead in the ensuing transition sequence.

Houston, which did not have any errant calls to its benefit, was unable to regain the lead. The loss ended what was a six-game winning streak by the Rockets (6-4).

Ultimately, it’s not much consolation for Ime Udoka and his new-look team, since it’s not as if the result will be changed. But perhaps it could add more fuel to the fire for their next game, which also occurs in that same Crypto.com Arena on Sunday night versus the Lakers.

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L2M Report backs up controversial offensive goaltending ruling in Thunder’s 141-139 loss to Warriors

The L2M report agreed with the overturn call that turned an offensive goaltend violation to a Steph Curry game-winner.

Many in OKC likely viewed Saturday’s Last Two Minute report as a chance to see if the Oklahoma City Thunder were wronged in their 141-139 loss to the Golden State Warriors.

If fans hoped for a justification for their outcry over an offensive goaltending call being overturned, resulting in a game-winning floater by Steph Curry with 0.2 seconds left, they were disappointed. The L2M report didn’t provide that.

In the report, the league said the officials correctly overturned their initial ruling. It noted Green’s contact with the rim didn’t affect Curry’s shot.

“After communicating with the Replay Center, the ruling on the floor of offensive basket interference is overturned. There is clear and conclusive evidence that Green (GSW) does not touch the ball and — although Green makes contact with the rim — contacting the rim, standing alone, does not violate the rule. In order for contact with the rim to constitute offensive basket interference when the ball is not in the net, it must (a) occur while the ball is sitting or rolling on the rim and using the rim as its lower base, (b) cause the ball to take an unnatural bounce, or (c) move the rim off-center. None of those conditions were satisfied on this play, so there was no basket interference.”

In a pool report following the game, head referee Mitchell Ervin provided further clarity for the game-deciding call.

“It was clear and conclusive evidence that Draymond does not touch the ball,” Ervin said. “Although Draymond does touch the rim, he does not touch the ball, nor does him touching the rim cause the ball to take an unnatural bounce therefore a basketball violation does not occur on the play.”

Following the pivotal ruling, fans took to social media to express their discontent with the call and confusion about what should be a rather simple rule.

Instead, most fans learned on Friday that a seemingly black-or-white call like offensive goaltending actually includes nuance and specific exceptions that Green met on that final play.

In the L2M report, the only miscue actually benefited OKC. At 1:12, Josh Giddey got away with a turnover due to palming the basketball.

Despite the sour ending, the Thunder had arguably their most impressive showing of the young season. Without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC scored a highly efficient 139 points in regulation due to their young core.

The Thunder took the four-time champion Warriors to the wire and earned new levels of respect from their accomplished peers.

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