Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards‘ win over the Golden State Warriors on Friday was indeed one wild ride, featuring perhaps the craziest last-second sequence in a game this season. But had in-game officials caught wind of a Beal violation around the 20-second mark, then maybe things would have ended differently.
The NBA released its Last Two Minute Report for the Wizards-Warriors game on Saturday, revealing Beal's traveling violation with under 30 ticks remaining in regulation which wasn't caught by the referees. Instead, play continued as the league's leading scorer missed a jumper while Warriors superstar Stephen Curry was fouled shortly afterward and drained two foul shots.
That's where things fell apart for the Warriors, as Beal practically stole the win away from them from that point on. The Wizards superstar caught a long offensive rebound before splashing a game-tying 3-pointer right over Andrew Wiggins. Adding insult to injury, Beal was fouled on the play and gave Washington the lead by completing the clutch four-point play.
Golden State still had six seconds in the clock in the ensuing possession but flubbed the opportunity after Damion Lee tried to throw a questionable corner pass instead of attacking the cup. The Wizards iced the game from the line, securing the 110-107 victory.
Had that traveling call on Beal been made on the floor, Golden State should have had possession of the basketball with around 25 seconds to go.
Sure, that missed whistle could have had major ramifications, but it still does not change the terrible decisions the Dubs could have still made in that span. Wiggins could still have fouled Beal, while Lee could have still rushed things.
As disappointing as that loss was for the Warriors, they need to have a short memory on this one and just try to bounce back in the coming games.
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