The NBA has admitted its officiating crew made a crucial mistake late in the Golden State Warriors’ Game 1 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday, but the admitted error did not come on the play most fans were outraged over.
In its Last Two Minute Report about the game, the NBA said referees were right to not blow the whistle when James Harden attempted a three-pointer that would have tied the game with roughly 10 seconds remaining. Many believed Draymond Green made contact with Harden on the shot. However, the league did admit that Stephen Curry should have been called for a loose-ball foul on Eric Gordon on the ensuing rebound. Here’s a video of the entire sequence:
Chris Paul steals it, James Harden misses a three, loose ball PJ Tucker steps outta bound and Chris Paul is TOSSED #rockets #DubNation #warriors pic.twitter.com/Fk356W21tz
— Sports Gifs & Videos (@Supreme_Gifs) April 28, 2019
Both teams were in the bonus at the time, so Curry’s foul should have put Gordon at the line with 5.2 seconds left. That would have given the Rockets a chance to cut Golden State’s lead to one in addition to extending the game.
There were some other highly questionable non-calls during the game that occurred outside of the final two minutes, and Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said the officials admitted to him that they missed some of them. These things happen in almost every game, but Houston needs more of those calls going forward if they want a chance to knock off the defending champions.
