鈥淕reat shot by a great player鈥 was how Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau described Andrew Wiggins鈥 game winner the other day. With 5.1 ticks left in the match and the Thunder up by one following a dramatic trey by Carmelo Anthony, the top pick in the 2014 draft took an inbounds pass from Taj Gibson and benefited from a solid pick by Karl-Anthony Towns to break free for a buzzer-beating attempt a step past the midcourt logo. The ball hit the board and found the bottom of the net, to the dismay of the 18,203 diehards who packed the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
To be sure, the fans protested not just because victory was snatched from the Thunder, who battled back from a deficit that once stood at 23 points and remained at 13 by the time the fourth quarter rolled around. It was also because they believed, as stalwarts of the blue and yellow did, that Wiggins鈥 heartbreaker came as a result of Towns鈥 illegal screen that leveled defender Paul George. Complaints were directed at the officials in the aftermath, with the sentiments lingering in the locker room of the hosts.
Yesterday, the National Basketball Association validated the Thunder鈥檚 claims. In its Last Two Minute Report for the set-to, the League Operations team noted that 鈥淭owns establishes a screening position in George鈥檚 path before the contact and he absorbs the contact when it occurs. However, his stance is wide and contact occurs to his leg area, which makes the screen illegal.鈥 In short, he stuck his leg out, a foul that should have been called and would likely have cemented the Timberwolves鈥 defeat.
Parenthetically, the NBA likewise called attention to another non-call prior to the fateful play. 鈥淎fter the made shot, with no timeouts remaining for either team, Thibodeau can be seen quickly signaling a timeout behind the back of the slot official and then immediately waving his players up the court,鈥 it said. 鈥淏y the time the referee is in a position to notice Thibodeau, he is not signaling a timeout and play moves up the court.鈥 Which is not to say the men in gray, and particularly Gary Zielinski, erred; pro hoops annals are littered with examples of coaches signaling timeouts that aren鈥檛 noticed by the referees. Rather, the league simply wanted to cite an instance that could have materially affected the outcome of the contest; it鈥檚 why no 鈥淩eview Decision鈥 was reflected in the comment.
In any case, the Thunder have moved on. As bench tactician Billy Donovan argued, 鈥減eople want to point fingers at why things happen all the time instead of saying 鈥極kay, how did I contribute to that?鈥 Echoed George, 鈥渢he officials are human like we are. They make mistakes. Like we turn the ball over. It鈥檚 part of the game. Give Wiggins credit for making a big shot.鈥
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.
