NBA: Refs missed three calls in last 10 seconds of Kings’ wild win over Denver Nuggets
The NBA admitted officials missed three crucial calls in the final 10 seconds of overtime in the Kings’ 124-122 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Wednesday’s season opener.
The three missed calls led to Buddy Hield’s winning basket at the buzzer following a wild sequence involving Harrison Barnes, Nikola Jokic and Will Barton. Hield sprinted off the floor as his teammates followed him to the locker room with glee after escaping with the win.
A courtside review of Hield’s putback basket clearly showed he got the shot off in time, but there was more to explore in the NBA’s Last 2 Minute Report. According to the report, Barnes got away with a traveling violation and a personal foul on Jokic on two big plays at the end of the game. The report also shows Barnes was fouled by Barton on a missed dunk attempt that was followed by Hield’s heroics.
A spectacular blocked shot by Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox led to a game-tying layup by Barnes with 6.5 seconds remaining in overtime. The league determined Barnes took more than two steps after gathering the ball en route to the basket, which should have resulted in a traveling violation.
On the ensuing possession, Barnes managed to poke the ball away from Jokic on an inbounds play. The league said Barnes made contact with Jokic’s arm as he received the inbounds pass, causing him to lose possession of the ball, but the foul was not called.
Fox swooped in to flip the loose ball ahead to Barnes, who attempted to dunk on Barton. Barton was credited with a blocked shot on the dunk attempt, but the NBA said he should have been called for a foul after jumping into Barnes, making contact with his arm and body.
Barnes missed the dunk but Hield was trailing the play to make the putback basket to win the game as time expired.
