The NBA has officially rendered its judgment on the controversial sequence at the end of Wednesday’s play-in tournament game.
With the New Orleans Pelicans trailing the Oklahoma City Thunder by four points in the closing seconds, Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram pulled up for a three. Ingram made the shot but was upset that he did not get a whistle as he felt that Thunder guard Luguentz Dort had fouled him on the elbow.
Here is the play.
This contest by Dort was WAY too close. Huge risk to allow the refs to get involved. I guess he didn’t touch the arm, but if Ingram hadn’t parachuted his feet apart, he could’ve gotten a landing space foul pic.twitter.com/b5z2bVWZss
— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) April 13, 2023
The Ingram three-pointer cut the Oklahoma City lead to one point, but he could have had an opportunity to tie the game if the officials had blown the whistle. Instead, New Orleans had to foul, and Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit two clutch free throws before the Pelicans threw the ball away with a chance to go for the game-tying three. OKC held on to win 123-118.
On Thursday, the NBA issued its last two-minute report for the game. They ruled that the correct no-call was made as Dort had not fouled Ingram.
The refs’ non-call on Lu Dort’s contest on Brandon Ingram’s final 3-pointer was correct: pic.twitter.com/LeVAKjglOp
— Clemente Almanza (@CAlmanza1007) April 13, 2023
In real time, it looked like Dort may have clipped Ingram’s arm and affected the shot. But the slow-mo replay showed that Dort made little to no contact with Ingram on the contest and also avoided Ingram’s landing space.
While it was a disappointing end to the season for the Pelicans, they only have themselves (and not the referees) to blame. Ingram missed a crucial free throw on the possession before his three-pointer, and there were also some internal dynamics that seemed to cost New Orleans this season.
