It's funny how things can radically change in a matter of seconds. As was the case last night when the Cleveland Cavaliers showed vulnerabilities as the Eastern Conference's top seed with a loss to the Sacramento Kings 120-113. The loss denied the Cavs a franchise record of 67 wins. 

The most notable moment was when Kings forward Zach LaVine appeared to beat the shot clock on a driving layup with 50 seconds remaining in the game. While LaVine made the shot, it appeared after the shot clock expired. The referees let the basket stand. 

But the NBA's two-minute report officially confirmed that LaVine's basket should have been a shot clock violation, per Danny Cunnigham of The Long Shot. 

The ball can clearly be seen leaving LaVine's hands after the shot clock ran out in a clip shared by @Reflog_18 in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Cavaliers' fans were unsurprisingly furious with the referees, who admitted after the game that they made a mistake in letting the basket stand. 

The Cavaliers, who are 62-16, have four games left on their regular season schedule before the playoffs. Their next game is against the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night. 

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While they will almost certainly finish the season as the No. 1 seed in the East, this mistake officially negates the Cavaliers' chance at history.

The Cavs were denied their shot at history

While the Cavaliers set a franchise record with a 16-game winning streak this year, this loss and the way it came will certainly haunt them, as there are no longer enough games on the schedule for them to break their franchise record for wins in a single season. 

The Cavaliers set the franchise wins record during the 2008-2009 season when they won 66 games with LeBron James at the helm. That year, the Cavs finished with the best record in the NBA. They went all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to the Orlando Magic in six games. That same year, James won his first NBA MVP Award. 

The Cavaliers best record was previously set during the '88-'89 and '91-'92 seasons, in which they won 57 games. In both seasons, they lost to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the playoffs. In '89, they lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals after Jordan's iconic “The Shot.” In 1992, they lost in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Now, the best the Cavaliers can hope for is ending the season with a 66-16.