James Harden Offensive Fouls on Marcus Smart Confirmed by L2M Report
The NBA announced Friday that James Harden was correctly whistled for two offensive fouls against Marcus Smart over the final 7.3 seconds of the Houston Rockets' 99-98 loss to the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.
According to the league's Last Two Minute Report, Harden dislodged Smart "from his legal guarding position" on both occasions.
The report also stated referees missed two traveling calls against the Celtics.
The first no-call came when Smart moved his pivot foot with 10.4 seconds remaining before dishing to Jayson Tatum for a dunk, while the second came when Al Horford committed the same infraction before hitting a game-winning jump hook.
After the loss, Harden said he was frustrated with the calls and the officiating in general since there were only two referees available after Mark Lindsay hurt his back prior to tipoff.
"A lot of grabbing, a lot of holding," Harden said, per ESPN.com's Tim MacMahon. "I mean, how else am I supposed to get open? Guy has two arms wrapped around my whole body.
"It's just tough. You can't have two officials in a professional game. There's a lot of no-calls that need to be called, because that changes the dynamic of the game."
