Were Sacramento Kings robbed in controversial loss to Atlanta Hawks? Here’s what NBA says
Kings fans booed the officiating crew out of the building following a controversial 109-108 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
The Kings had two points of contention regarding the final sequence after Dyson Daniels prevented De’Aaron Fox from firing up a potential game-winning field-goal attempt at the buzzer.
Many fans took to social media insisting Fox was fouled when Daniels blocked his shot and came away with the ball. Kings coach Mike Brown later suggested Daniels might have stepped out of bounds with 0.9 seconds remaining before passing the ball to teammate Trae Young as time expired.
The outcome left players, coaches and fans frustrated, but according to the NBA’s Last 2 Minute Report, officials called the play correctly.
The Kings found themselves trailing by one in the final seconds of a fourth quarter that featured three ties and five lead changes. They had a chance to win on the final possession, but Daniels blocked a shot by Fox.
Daniels corralled the loose ball and passed to Young as the buzzer sounded.
Video replays showed Daniels’ foot coming down out of bounds with 0.9 seconds showing on the clock, but it looked like the ball might have been out of his hands at that point.
“I couldn’t see it from where I am, but obviously our video guys saw it,” Brown said. “It looked like there were 0.9 seconds on the clock. It looked like he stepped out of bounds. It will be one of those things on the Last 2 Minute Report. If he did step out of bounds, the league will say, ‘Oops, I’m sorry you guys lost.’”
The Last 2 Minute Report credited officials with correct non-calls on both aspects of the play, stating: “Daniels (ATL) makes clean contact with the ball to dislodge it from Fox’s (SAC) possession and any contact with Fox’s hand on the ball is considered incidental.”
The Last 2 Minute Report went on to say: “Daniels (ATL) avoids stepping out of bounds prior to releasing the pass.”
This story was originally published November 19, 2024 at 2:02 PM.
