NBA admits missed call on critical late play in Wolves' loss to Spurs

The league's Last Two Minute Report revealed that a foul should have been called on Victor Wembanyama's block with less than a minute to play.

Jan 17, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) blocks a shot by Minnesota Timberwolves forward Joan Beringer (19) in the second half at Frost Bank Center. | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

The NBA has acknowledged a critical missed call in the final minute of Saturday night's instant classic 126-123 Timberwolves loss to the Spurs in San Antonio.

After Victor Wembanyama's jumper put the Spurs up 120-119 with 53 seconds left, Anthony Edwards was blitzed in the backcourt and had to give the ball up. Jaden McDaniels passed it to Julius Randle, who drove and passed to rookie Joan Beringer in the dunker spot. Beringer tried to get around Wembanyama for a reverse layup, but the shot was blocked.

There appeared to be somewhat significant contact made from Wemby's hip to Beringer's midsection before the rookie went up for the layup, but no call was made. According to the NBA's Last Two Minute Report, that was a mistake.

"Wembanyama (SAS) moves laterally into Beringer's (MIN) path and initiates illegal body contact after his gather, which affects Beringer's shot attempt," the league wrote. "The illegal body contact occurs prior to the contact with the ball."

Wemby hits the go-ahead bucket, then gets the block at the other end pic.twitter.com/ac52d2BLRj

— r/nba_highlights (@rNBAHighlights) January 18, 2026

The Spurs' ensuing possession ended with a massive Keldon Johnson three-pointer that put them up by four. The Wolves then got away with a Chris Finch technical foul (presumably for arguing the Beringer no-call) when Wembanyama missed the free throw, and they proceeded to cut their deficit to one on Edwards' ninth three of the night. But De'Aaron Fox hit a couple free throws, the Spurs fouled up three, and the game was sealed on a couple big rebounds from San Antonio.

Had the play been officiated correctly, Beringer would've gone to the line with a chance to tie the game or give the Timberwolves the lead. Those would've been high-pressure free throws for a 19-year-old big who has attempted a total of four free throws in his NBA career, but hey, he's made three of those four. Maybe he hits at least one to tie the score. And who knows how things might've played out from there?

That was the only incorrect or missed call in the final two minutes of the game, per the league's report. L2M reports cover all "officiated events that occurred in the last two minutes of games that were at or within three points during any point in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter (and overtime, where applicable)."

Officiating aside, Beringer probably shouldn't have tested Wembanyama at the rim in that situation. Randle probably shouldn't have even initiated a drive, when the alternative was finding a way to get the ball to the guy who had already scored 51 points. Nonetheless, that was an unfortunate missed call in an otherwise incredible basketball game.

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