The Golden State Warriors had a bittersweet Easter Sunday. On the bright side, they welcomed Steph Curry back into the fold after the two-time MVP had missed 27 consecutive games with runner’s knee. On the less happy side, the Dubs lost a heartbreaker to the Houston Rockets, as their comeback fell just short in a 117-116 defeat.
Because it was a close game, the NBA released a Last 2 Minute Report for the contest. In L2Ms, the NBA combs through the final two minutes of close games from multiple camera angles, and assesses whether plays were correctly called (or non-called). Thankfully (or sometimes not thankfully), the L2Ms are released to the public, so we can see how the officials did in the most crucial moments.
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In Houston’s victory, the league determined that there were three mistakes made by the officiating crew. All three were incorrect non-calls, which is to say whistles that weren’t blown, but should have been. And two of those three were whistles that would have been blown against the Rockets, benefitting the Warriors.
The first occurred with 1:28.6 remaining, when Curry made a layup that pulled the Warriors to within a point. According to the league, a shooting foul should have been called on Amen Thompson, giving Curry a free throw. Here’s the league’s ruling: “Thompson (HOU) jumps from A to B and initiates body contact with Curry (GSW) as he defends the shot.”
The second occurred shortly after, with 1:10.7 on the clock, when Alperen Şengün should have been whistled for a three-second violation, with the league stating, “Sengun (HOU) fails to fully clear the lane and is in the paint for longer than three seconds.” Just two seconds later, Şengün drained a short jumper, was fouled, and completed the three-point play. Instead of a turnover, the Rockets pushed their lead to four points.
The third and final officiating mistake came with 46 seconds remaining, when the refs failed to call a defensive three-second violation on Draymond Green. Here’s the ruling: “Green (GSW) fails to fully clear the lane and is in the paint for longer than three seconds without imminently actively guarding an opponent.” Had the play been properly whistled, the Rockets would have gotten a free throw and then retained possession. Instead, they had an empty trip down the court.
Ultimately, missed calls are a part of the game, and there’s no use crying over them. Sometimes they help the Warriors, and sometimes they hurt them.