NBA acknowledges that officials missed the last 1.5 seconds of the Celtics’ game against the Hornets.
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HOUSTON — There would have been no need to discuss the clock if Jayson Tatum had made his three free throws late in overtime, as everyone knows. The Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets never should have been in a close game.
NBA referees are held to a high standard of performance, and it is noteworthy when they fall short of that standard.
Tatum missed his third free throw in overtime, a shot that would have tied the game at 119, and the NBA acknowledged in its Last Two Minute Report for Monday’s Hornets victory that the officials made a few mistakes.
Holiday actually fouled Brandon Miller with 5.2 seconds remaining in the game when he pulled Miller’s hand away from the ball, according to the NBA, after the miss “and affects [Miller’s] ability to secure the rebound.”
(The initial shooting foul on Gordon Hayward, which put Tatum at the line, was later determined to have been a correct call.)
The rebound was eventually secured by Miles Bridges, who eventually called Holiday for a foul.
The officials failed to notice that the clock had clearly continued to run after that foul was called, and the Celtics did not cause enough concern to cause them to double-check. The game’s clock stood at 1.7 seconds because Rodney Mott, Mitchell Ervin, and Robert Hussey, the three-man crew, didn’t seem to realize that extra time was running out.
According to the L2M report, 3.2 seconds is when the clock should have stopped.
“Although the foul is called with 3.2 seconds remaining on the game clock, the clock continues to run to 01.7 and it is not recognized by the officials,” according to the report.
The Celtics had to foul again off Charlotte’s inbounds after the Holiday foul, which cost them 0.9 seconds of possession.
After Hayward’s made free throws, the Celtics would have had 2.3 seconds to attempt a game-winning or tying basket if the clock had been reset. Rather, they had 0.8 seconds, and Bridges intercepted Holiday’s inbounds pass to seal the victory.
If the Celtics had had those 2.3 seconds, would they have used them to their fullest potential? In doubt. A master at creating ATOs is not one of Joe Mazzulla’s many talents.
Even though officials are frequently excused for making mistakes when calling fouls in a sport where massive bodies are moving quickly, they still ought to be able to accurately read the clock. Fundamental rules of game management shouldn’t ever truly affect the outcome of a multibillion dollar league.
