The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets battled it out once again in Game 1 of the Western Conference semi-finals, and as expected, the game was spectacular from start to finish.
But it wasn't perfect.
Yes, the Warriors walked away with a 104-100 victory, but they also seemed to have escaped with a lot of no-foul calls against the Rockets. There were several plays in the game when James Harden and Chris Paul were seemingly fouled while taking 3-pointers, but no whistles were blown from the game officials.
After the game, Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni told reporters that the referees admitted to him that they missed several calls that should've gone Houston's way.
Mike D’Antoni says refs admitted at halftime they missed fouls on Warriors closing out on James Harden. “They missed four of them. That’s 12 foul shots.”
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 28, 2019
If those fouls were called, the Rockets would've shot around 12-15 free throws. Unfortunately, they weren't, and it played a key role in the outcome of the game.
Former NBA referee Steve Javie also agreed that the Rockets should've gone to the free throw line more in Game 1.
But the outcome of the game cannot be changed, and the Rockets will just have to accept it and move on.
Regardless of what did and didn't happen, the Rockets put up a good fight against the two-time defending champions. They may have lost game 1, but the series is just getting started. Expect Harden, Paul, and co. to bounce back in Game 2 on Tuesday.
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