The controversial ending of the Golden State Warriors-Oklahoma City Thunder game isn't controversial at all. That much is made clear by the NBA in its L2M Report for the In-Season Tournament opener between the two teams.
For those who missed it, the Warriors won 141-139 courtesy of a Stephen Curry lay-up. However, there was an issue to it after Draymond Green was initially called for basket interference when he appeared to touch the rim and the basketball before it went it. A review of the play, nonetheless, ruled in favor of the Dubs as it was found that Green did not commit a goaltending violation.
With 0.2 second left on the clock, the Thunder would have forced overtime had the basket interference call stood. Unfortunately, the ruling allowed Curry's basket to count, giving Warriors the narrow victory.
In the NBA's L2M Report, the league confirmed that the referees made the right call, emphasizing that Draymond Green did not touch the ball. And while the Golden State forward did touch the rim, the report noted that “contacting the rim, standing alone, does not violate the rule.”
“After communicating with the Replay Center, the ruling on the floor of offensive basket interference is overturned. There is clear and conclusive evidence that Green (GSW) does not touch the ball and–although Green makes contact with the rim–contacting the rim, standing alone, does not violate the rule,” the L2M Report detailed.
“In order for contact with the rim to constitute offensive basket interference when the ball is not in the net, it must (a) occur while the ball is sitting or rolling on the rim and using the rim as its lower base, (b) cause the ball to take an unnatural bounce, or (c) move the rim off-center. None of those conditions were satisfied on this play, so there was no basket interference.”
NBA crew chief explains Warriors-Thunder controversy
For what it's worth, the explanation is in line with how crew chief Mitchell Ervin defended the decision post-game. He noted that since the ball didn't have an unnatural bounce despite Draymond Green touching the rim, it didn't warrant an offensive basketball interference.
“It was clear and conclusive evidence that Draymond does not touch the ball. Although Draymond does touch the rim, he does not touch the ball, nor does him touching the rim cause the ball to take an unnatural bounce therefore a basketball violation does not occur on the play,” Ervin noted.
Video replays of the incident did show that Green didn't touch the ball at all. He had contact with the rim, but it appeared to be nothing but a light tap that didn't cause any movement at the ball at all.
Sure enough, though, Thunder fans have every right to feel robbed over the decision. They were so close to forcing overtime and potentially winning, but they were denied of the chance to do so. As a result, they even dropped to 3-3 on the season after starting 2-0 and losing just once in their first four games of the campaign.
As for the Warriors, they improved to 5-1 on the year and claimed the top spot in the Western Conference, tied with the Denver Nuggets and half a game ahead of the third-seeded Dallas Mavericks. Their only loss so far was their season opener against the Phoenix Suns.
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