Referees miss critical Dion Waiters push on inbounds play
Referees missed a critical call on the final possession of Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs Monday.
Dion Waiters was looking to inbound the ball with the Thunder up 98-97 and 13.5 seconds left. Struggling to find someone to pass to, he pushed defender Manu Ginobili in what many thought was a foul:
Another angle of Dion Waiters pushing Manu Ginobili out of the way with his elbow pic.twitter.com/s5s85GFojF
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) May 3, 2016
Those who subscribe to the “ball don’t lie” notion would feel vindicated as the Spurs came up with the ball on a turnover and had a chance to win it. Unfortunately, Patty Mills’ shot at the buzzer to give the Spurs the win was short of the basket, giving the Thunder the win.
Though San Antonio did end up with the ball and a chance at winning the game, the argument is that if a foul were called, they would have been able to set up a play, which might have been more effective. Some also feel a technical foul should have been called. But those people should also be made aware that it looked like Ginobili was out of bounds:
Obviously Waiters can't shove Ginobili, but Ginobili can't go over the line either. pic.twitter.com/9SY1UO8FLH
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) May 3, 2016
Waiters also noted this after the game.
Dion Waiters sitting at his locker, scrolling through his phone postgame: “He stepped on the line anyway”
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 3, 2016
Oh, and if all that weren’t enough, a Spurs fan grabbed Steven Adams and held him by his arm:
Not being talked about: the fan who held Steven Adams after Mills' final attempt pic.twitter.com/aAf7Uo1CrH
— Rob Perez (@World_Wide_Wob) May 3, 2016
The end result is that the Thunder have evened the series at 1-1 after being blitzed by 32 points in a Game 1 defeat. And with their victory, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant can put this incident behind them.
