Egregious Missed Goaltend in Sixers vs. Rockets Highlights NBA's Officiating Problem

With five seconds left in regulation on Thursday, the Sixers and Rockets were all knotted up at 115 apiece. Tyrese Maxey blew past Amen Thompson and drove in for a would-be game-winning layup, although Kevin Durant met him at the rim and blocked his shot, sending the game into overtime.

There was just one problem: Durant only made contact with the shot well after it hit the backboard. It was unquestionably a goaltend, but the officials didn't see it that way.

Officials in Sixers-Rockets did NOT call this goaltend... then declared it a jump ball on the ensuing loose ball play for an "inadvertent whistle"...

WOOF. Inexcusable. pic.twitter.com/gfrlEMKtdC
— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) January 23, 2026

As the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast explained, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse wasn't allowed to challenge the call because it happened in the final two minutes of regulation. The officials also weren't allowed to review the play because they didn't call it a goaltend initially. Head referee John Goble confirmed as much to the pool reporter (Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer) after the game.

It wound up not mattering, as the Sixers pulled away in overtime for a much-needed 128-122 victory. But the reaction was unanimous: The refs missed an obvious goaltend.

That is a badly missed goaltend in Sixers-Rockets. Philadelphia should be pretty livid about that one.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 23, 2026

After the game, Maxey said he had seen replays of the no-call, adding, "It happens sometimes. That's how it goes." He credited the team for bouncing back in overtime and not letting their frustration snowball.

"Trendon [Watford] was a big voice in there, just saying, 'Five-minute game, five-minute game.' Joel stepped up saying, 'Listen, things happen, let's go get a W.' I was kinda like, 'That shouldn't happen, but it happened, so.'

"That was good resilience by us, man. Those are tough games to win. You go up, you get down, fight all the way back, think you're about to win it basically, then you've gotta go to overtime. Then we won it, so that's good."

It shouldn't have come to that, though.

Should the NBA change its replay rules?

This wasn't the first time that the Sixers were on the wrong end of a questionable non-call at the end of a game this season. In mid-December, Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker wasn't called for what seemed like an obvious backcourt violation, although the NBA's Last Two Minutes report doubled down on the no-call the next day.

There isn't likely to be any such ambiguity this time around. The Last Two Minutes report on Friday figures to confirm what everyone saw with their naked eyes: The refs missed a goaltending call on Durant, pushing what should have been a Sixers win in regulation into overtime.

Although that missed call ultimately didn't end up costing the Sixers on Thursday, the fact that it could have is a problem in and of itself. The NBA is currently wrapped up in a massive gambling scandal and is already dealing with questions about the integrity of the game as a result. Missing an obvious, potentially game-deciding call could result in even more questions along those lines.

The Last Two Minutes report is a good first step toward accountability, although it doesn't provide any recourse to a team that was wronged by a game-deciding call. In that respect, it almost adds insult to injury. The NBA issues an official report the day after a game admitting that its officials blew a crucial call, but the team on the wrong end of that still gets handed the loss.

The NBA's Replay Center in Seacaucus, New Jersey, exists to assist referees with calls like this. Officials are allowed to use replay when they are "not reasonably certain whether a goaltending or basket-interference violation was called correctly during the last two minutes of the fourth period or last two minutes of any overtime period." However, "possible goaltending violations that were not called are not reviewable."

For that reason, Nurse said after the game that the referees are "supposed to call those" to err on the side of caution. They can always overturn it upon replay rather than leaving a team with no recourse for a blown call.

"Listen, they're supposed to call those if there's any chance at all it's a goaltend 'cause they can review it, and they can't review it if they can't call them," Nurse told reporters. "So they can get it right. I've actually been in games with those [officials] that they've called 'em, more than two or three times. And you get it when they call them, right? But they didn't. I guess they just thought it was too far under or they didn't see it, so they didn't call it."

In the wake of this game, the NBA might want to revisit that provision this offseason. Although it didn't cost the Sixers on Thursday, other teams might not be so fortunate in the future.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

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