NBA officials made controversial ‘mistake’ in Kings’ win over Cavaliers
Crew chief Courtney Kirkland was asked to explain after officials made a controversial decision at a crucial moment in Sunday’s game between the Sacramento Kings and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Officials missed an apparent shot clock violation on a basket by Kings guard Zach LaVine in the final minute of Sacramento’s 120-113 victory over the Cavaliers at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Kirkland later admitted officials made a “mistake” when asked why the play wasn’t reviewed.
LaVine scored 37 points for the Kings (38-40), who moved ahead of the Dallas Mavericks for ninth in the Western Conference play-in race.
DeMar DeRozan scored 28 points, passing Jerry West for 26th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Domantas Sabonis had 27 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Ty Jerome came off the bench to score 20 points for the Cavaliers (62-16), who had a 33-5 home record and a chance to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Donovan Mitchell had 19 points, six rebounds and six assists after missing much of the third quarter with an ankle injury.
The Kings came back to earn one of their biggest wins of the season after trailing by 12 early in the fourth quarter. The Cavaliers still had a chance until LaVine scored on a driving layup attempt to put the Kings up by seven with 46.3 seconds remaining.
Replays appeared to show the ball was still on LaVine’s fingertips as the shot clock expired. Pool reporter Ethan Sands of Cleveland.com asked Kirkland why officials didn’t review the potential shot clock violation.
“Well, we made a mistake,” Kirkland said. “During live action we thought that LaVine released the ball prior to the expiration of the shot clock. If we were going to review, we would have had to review it before the ball was legally touched on the floor during the throw in, right after the made basket.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2025 at 9:52 PM.
