Everything Went Wrong on Final Play of Thunder-Spurs

 

 

13.5 seconds to go in game 2 between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC up by one point. Dion Waiters trying to inbound the ball. What happened next, are not one, but many missed calls by the Gongfu Tea Cup.

 

Manu Ginobili stepped on/over the line! Delay of Game violation last two minutes

In the video above, as well as in the following video, you clearly see, that Manu Ginobili stepped on the line. In the last two minutes of the game, the called should have been: Technical Foul.

 

PENALTY: The first offense is a warning. A technical foul shall be assessed with each successive offense and charged to the team. An announcement will be made by the public address announcer. The 24-second clock shall remain the same or reset to 14, whichever is greater, if the violation is assessed against the defensive team. The offensive team shall be awarded a new 8 seconds to advance the ball if it is in the backcourt. If repeated acts become a travesty, the head coach shall be notified that he is being held responsible.
EXCEPTION (5): In the last two minutes of the fourth period and/or any overtime period, a technical foul will be assessed if the defender crosses or breaks the plane of the boundary line prior to the ball being released on a throw-in.

 

Dion Waiters jumps while inbounding the ball: Throw-in violation

You are not allowed to jump up and down while inbounding the ball from the sidelines.

 

Section IV-Thrower-in
a. A thrower-in shall not (1) carry the ball onto the court; (2) fail to release the ball within 5 seconds; (3) touch it on the court before it has touched another player; (4) leave the designated throw-in spot; (5) throw the ball so that it enters the basket before touching anyone on the court; (6) step over the boundary line while inbounding the ball; (7) cause the ball to go out-of-bounds without being touched inbounds; (8) leave the playing surface to gain an advantage on a throw-in; (9) hand the ball to a player on the court.
EXCEPTION: After a field goal or free throw as a result of a personal foul, the thrower-in may run the end line or pass to a teammate behind the end line.
b. Once an official recognizes the designated player to throw the ball in, there shall be no change of the thrower-in unless the offensive team makes a substitution, there is a regular or 20-second timeout or a suspension of play.
PENALTY: Loss of ball. The ball is awarded to the opposing team at the original spot of the throw-in.

 

Kawhi Leonard is grabbing and holding Russell Westbrook’s jersey: Inbound foul

You can see that Kawhi was holding Westbrook’s jersey, while Dion Waiters was trying to inbound the ball.

 

Section X Away From The Play Foul
a. During the last two minutes of the fourth period or overtime period(s) with the offensive team in possession of the ball, all personal fouls which are assessed against the defensive team prior to the ball being released on a throw-in and/or away-from-the-play, shall be administered as follows:
(1) A personal foul and team foul shall be assessed and one free throw attempt shall be awarded. The free throw may be attempted by any play-er in the game at the time the personal foul was committed.
(2) If the foul occurs when the ball is inbounds, the offended team shall be awarded the ball at the nearest point where play was interrupted but no nearer to the baseline than the free throw line extended.
(3) If the foul occurs prior to the release on a throw-in, the offended team shall be awarded the ball at the original throw-in spot, with all privileges, if any, remaining.

 

Dion Waiters pushes Manu Ginobili with forearm: Offensive Foul violation

The actualy missed call that everyone is talking about.

Referee Ken Mauer later said when asked about the play:

 

Question: Can you explain what you saw on the inbounds play with 13.5 seconds remaining when Dion Waiters appeared to make contact with Manu Ginobili?

Mauer: On the floor, we did not see a foul on the play. However, upon review we realize and we agree that we should have had an offensive foul on the play. It’s a play that we have never seen before, ever, but we feel we should have had an offensive foul on Waiters.

Question: Had an offensive call been made on Waiters, what rule would have applied to a foul committed before throw-in?

Mauer: An offensive foul. Possession Spurs.

 

 

But that wasn’t all. There were even more missed calls.

 

The clock starts before anybody touches the ball: Reset

You can clearly see that the clock started before anyone touched the ball. The play should have been waived off and Waiters should have gotten a new chance to inbound the ball.

 

After Patty Mills finally missed the three-point attempt, Steven Adams was grabbed on the arm by a female fan sitting courtside. Yes, she lost her balance and it is a natural reflex to hold on to someone/something before you fall but there should have been some kind of call. Granted I don’t know what call should have been made.

 

whoa whoa whoa AND Steven Adams had his arm grabbed by a fan on that last play pic.twitter.com/2EwdJuwMnv

— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) May 3, 2016