In the tense game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, the referees missed a crucial call involving Devin Booker appearing to step out of bounds. Even in real time, it was obvious that the star guard's right shoe touched the sideline after a trap set by the Thunder.

With just a few ticks left on the game, the Suns were clinging to a four-point lead and so the Thunder were looking for a stop. The trap they set was impressive. So much so that Booker had no choice but to drift away from the center of the floor, which is a big no-no. But as luck would have it, the referees did not see Booker's right foot step out of bounds.

The Suns escaped with a close one, 123-120 to improve to 46-18. The Thunder, on the other hand, suffered their 44th loss.

After the game, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault firmly believed that the referees missed the call on Booker. He, however, did point out that they did not have a perfect angle to clearly see the play (via Logan Newman of USA Today).

“He definitely stepped out. I mean, I blitzed (the refs), I wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t step out. It was a tough play for them, I think, for the refs, because they were coming out of a jump ball. So they weren’t in their normal positions.”

It was an unfortunate result for the Thunder. But they should not just be the ones thinking about their shortcomings. The referees need to rethink too what could've been done to avoid such a critical error. Devin Booker escaped that one.