NBA Says Officials Missed Two Calls at the End of Timberwolves vs. Thunder
Officials missed two calls at the end of Sunday's Timberwolves-Thunder game that would have prevented Andrew Wiggins' game-winning shot, according to the Last Two Minute Report.
The first call that the refs missed was when Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau tried calling a timeout after Carmelo Anthony hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 4.7 seconds left in the game. Minnesota had no timeouts remaining, and Thibodeau gesturing for a timeout should have been a technical foul. Thibodeau was behind the official when he tried to call the timeout, so the official did not see him, and by the time he could, Thibodeau was no longer gesturing for a timeout, but was waving his players up court.
The second call the NBA says was missed was an illegal screen by Karl-Anthony Towns. Wiggins had gotten the inbound pass near the sideline and as he got near half court, Towns set a screen on Paul George that knocked him out of the play and gave Wiggins separation to dribble into his shot. The league says that although Towns was not moving during the screen and had established his position within enough time, his stance was too wide, and the contact on the screen was with George's leg, which means it should have been called a foul.
Since neither of these calls were made at the time, Minnesota came away with a 115-113 road victory over Oklahoma City thanks to the three Wiggins banked in as time expired.
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Minnesota is 2-1 and plays the Pacers Tuesday and the 1-2 Thunder have their next game against the Pacers Wednesday.
