NBA Rules 5 Missed Calls in Final Sequence of Thunder vs. Spurs Game
The officials in Monday's contest between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs failed to call five fouls in the game's final sequence, according to the NBA's Last Two Minute Report.
That included a missed call on OKC's Dion Waiters, who elbowed Manu Ginobili while trying to inbound the ball with 13.5 seconds remaining in the game. The Spurs ultimately stole the ball on the inbounds pass but failed to hit a game-winning shot, losing to the Thunder, 98-97.
Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated noted jumping on an inbounds pass is legal:
It was a bizarre and complex play—the NBA determined in its report that Ginobili stepped out of bounds while defending the inbounds pass, which should have resulted in a delay-of-game call before the contact—and one the referees admitted they had never seen before.
“On the floor we did not see a foul on the play,” crew chief Ken Mauer said in a statement, per Ben Golliver of SI.com. “However, upon review we realize and we agree we should have had an offensive foul on the play. It’s a play we’ve never seen before, ever. We should have had an offensive foul [on Waiters] on the play. Possession Spurs.”
The NBA Referees Association added that the play in question would be incorporated into its training program going forward.
While that was the biggest moment of the night, it was just one of five missed calls on the final possession, per the league:
- Ginobili should have been called for a delay of game for stepping on the boundary line (00:13.5).
- Waiters should have been called for an offensive foul for making contact with Ginobili (00:13.5).
- Patty Mills should have been called for a foul for holding on to Steven Adams during the inbound (00:13.5).
- Kawhi Leonard should have been called for grabbing Russell Westbrook's jersey during the inbound (00:13.5).
- Serge Ibaka should have been called for a shooting foul on LaMarcus Aldridge for grabbing his jersey and affecting his shot attempt (00:02.6).
As Waiters pointed out after the game, any controversy over whether he should have been called for a foul is mooted by the fact the referees first missed Ginobili's delay-of-game infraction, per Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman:
But the Spurs can still turn their ire to the fact that after neither Ginobili nor Waiters was called for a foul on the inbound, Aldridge was still fouled in the act of shooting. Or the Thunder can point out that both Adams and Westbrook were fouled earlier away from the ball.
One thing all sides can likely agree on: The last 13.5 seconds of Monday night's game were sloppy, and both teams have legitimate gripes about how the referees handled its conclusion as the series heads to Oklahoma City tied at a win apiece.
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