NBA Says Paul George Elbow to Jusuf Nurkic's Head Was Missed by Refs
Monty McCutchen, the NBA's vice president of referee development and training, acknowledged that the officiating crew for Thursday night's battle between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Portland Trail Blazers missed a call on Paul George's elbow to the head of Jusuf Nurkic late in the fourth quarter.
"We know we're going to be imperfect at times," McCutchen said on ESPN's The Jump on Friday. "And this is one of those times."
George was not whistled for a foul on the play. Per ESPN's Rachel Nichols, McCutchen does not believe the play warranted a flagrant foul but thinks the officials should've reviewed it:
The league's L2M report also addressed the controversial play: "George (OKC) removes his hand from the ball and uses his elbow to deliver contact with Nurkic's (POR) head/face during the driving shot attempt."
At the time of the incident, the two teams were tied at 111-apiece with fewer than 20 seconds remaining in regulation. George would miss his layup attempt, but Terrance Ferguson followed up the miss with a rebound and a bucket to give OKC a two-point lead.
Had George been whistled for either a common foul or a flagrant, Ferguson's basket would not have counted and Portland would have had possession in a tied game with a chance to win.
Instead, the Thunder moved out in front. And emotions would continue to run high on the Trail Blazers' ensuing possession.
Nurkic wound up getting ejected after going head-to-head with George after being fouled on a potential game-tying basket:
Both Nurkic and George received technicals, with Nurkic being ejected as the result of his second technical of the game.
Portland tied the game with a pair of free throws once things settled down. However, playing without their center, the Trail Blazers fell to the Thunder in overtime, 129-121.
After the game, referee Ed Malloy explained that George's elbow was not reviewed because a foul had not been called on the play:
Given Oklahoma City (40-25) and Portland (39-26) are in a battle with the Houston Rockets (39-25), among other teams, for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, that no-call could play a factor in determining seeding. The loss currently has the Trail Blazers in fifth place in the Western Conference.
