The NBA has acknowledged that the referees screwed up on the string of no-foul calls in the final minutes of yesterday’s Warriors victory over the Cavaliers. The Last Two Minute report from the game identifies three Kevin Durant fouls that were not called, as well as one by LeBron James.
The first missed call on Durant occurred when he made contact with James while defending him with 1:12 remaining. The next two—and the most key in setting up the game’s outcome—occurred on the same play, with Durant defending James as he drove to the basket with just more than 25 seconds remaining. The report notes that Durant should’ve been called for a personal foul because of his forearm contact with James at the start of the drive and for a shooting foul because of his contact during the shot itself:
The no-call on James happened just before this drive, when he grabbed Draymond Green’s jersey.
Durant has said that his play in the final minute “felt clean” and that arguing over calls should stay on Twitter where it belongs. James, for his part, said after the game that he felt he was fouled but remained pretty low-key about the whole thing: “Whatever. What are you going to do about it?” The league’s report today proves LeBron right on both counts. He was fouled, and the NBA knows it, but now there’s nothing to be done—except to continue getting hyped for the next time these teams meet and buying into all the features that make this match-up so fun.