Crucial Officiating Calls under Scrutiny

In a recent revelation, the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report disclosed that officials made two significant incorrect calls in the closing moments of the Golden State Warriors’ 121-116 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

The report, released on Wednesday, highlighted a critical moment where the referees—Josh Tiven, Bill Kennedy, and Nick Buchert—wrongly penalized Warriors’ guard Brandin Podziemski for a personal foul. This occurred as he successfully blocked a shot by Memphis’ Scotty Pippen Jr. with just 37 seconds remaining in the game.

Impact of Incorrect Calls

The foul led to Pippen Jr. stepping to the free-throw line, where he managed to score one out of two attempts, narrowing Golden State’s lead to 117-114. The implications of this call were monumental as it shifted the game’s momentum.

Later, with only 7.3 seconds left and the Warriors holding onto a slim lead, a critical out-of-bounds play was stopped. Ja Morant appeared to have touched the ball on a reach-in foul against Stephen Curry, but the report specified that the ball should have been ruled off Curry’s hand, granting possession to the Grizzlies.

Evaluation of Other Calls

The Last Two Minute Report also confirmed that officials correctly identified a five-second violation by Memphis during an inbound play when they trailed 119-116 with 5.4 seconds left. Subsequently, Curry was fouled and completed his free throws, helping secure the Warriors’ win.

However, not all calls were ruled correctly. The report pointed out two missed calls that could have altered the game’s outcome. A foul on Draymond Green against Pippen Jr. with 1:29 left was overlooked, which would have marked Green’s sixth foul, forcing him to exit the game earlier. Additionally, Grizzlies center Zach Edey committed an offensive goaltending violation when he contacted the ball in the restricted area above the rim moments later, but the referees did not penalize the play.

Looking Ahead

With this victory, the Golden State Warriors have secured the seventh seed in the Western Conference and are set to face the Houston Rockets in Game 1 on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Memphis Grizzlies will compete against the winner of the Dallas-Sacramento match-up in a play-in game to determine the conference’s eighth seed.