There was no shortage of controversy in the closing seconds of the Boston Celtics’ 133–131 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Monday.
Celtics star Jayson Tatum voiced his displeasure with the officiating on Tuesday, shortly after the NBA confirmed in its daily Last Two Minute Report that officials wrongly awarded Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin a pair of game-winning free throws with 0.1 seconds left.
“Porzingis (BOS) is above the ball and legally contests Mathurin’s (IND) shot attempt, with some incidental arm contact occurring concurrent with the block,” the report states. “Referees conducted a replay review to determine if the foul was called with no time remaining on the clock (00:00), and determined it was called before the expiration of time.
“The clock was reset with 0.6 remaining on the clock. The foul itself was not a reviewable matter under this replay trigger.”
That play wasn’t the only one under scrutiny from Monday night. Jaylen Brown and even Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James voiced their disagreement when the league reversed a late foul call on Pacers guard Buddy Hield after review. Had it stood, Brown would have attempted two go-ahead free-throw attempts with 3.2 seconds left. The post-game report noted that it was a correct no-call on the play.
The Last Two Minute Report also stated that officials also missed an offensive foul call on Pacers center Myles Turner with 2.0 seconds left that would’ve ended the Pacers’ game-winning possession before Mathurin was awarded the free throws.
After three calls in the final three seconds went against Boston on Tuesday, Tatum and the Celtics will move on to their matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.
But not without letting the league know about it first.
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