Scott Foster’s officiating crew missed six calls in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime in Wednesday’s 110-108 Wolves win over the Rockets. Minnesota was forced to overcome several injury absences, a key foul-out by Naz Reid, and numerous questionable officiating decisions in a game that featured the biggest overtime comeback in league history.
On Thursday, the league released its Last Two Minute report, and it had a staggering six missed or incorrect calls by the officials. Both teams left aggrieved by numerous calls, and the report shows that both sides saw significant impact from missed or incorrect calls. Notably, the report upholds a late decision that Wolves head coach Chris Finch thought went the wrong way…. more on that later.
Non-call on Sengun screen
With one minute left and trailing by one, Rockets big man Alperen Sengun attempted to set a screen on Julius Randle. However, Sengun “takes an extra step and delivers contact with his side as he sets the pick” on Randle, sending the Wolves forward into Durant, the report said. No call was made on the play, which the league deemed the wrong decision.
If Sengun had been called for the offensive foul, it would have been his sixth and he would have fouled out. Sengun’s absence would have been a critical loss for the Rockets in a tight game with little time left.
Incorrect possession given
Trailing by three, the Wolves should have been given possession on an out-of-bounds play. A missed Rockets shot came down in a scrum of bodies before it was hit out of bounds. On the court, the refs ruled that the ball last touched Wolves guard Bones Hyland. The league noted that Sengun was the last player to touch the ball and that Minnesota should have been awarded possession.
If the Wolves were given possession, the next two missed calls don’t happen…
Anderson foul, DiVincenzo kicked ball
On the ensuing inbound, Wolves guard Kyle Anderson wasn’t called for initiating contact on Durant, which caused a loose ball. While the ball was on the ground, Donte DiVincenzo wasn’t called for kicking the ball out of the reach of Sengun, allowing the Wolves to pick up possession.
While the Wolves were certainly bitten by bad calls, these were significant misses for the Rockets. If Houston had been able to retain possession, perhaps they make another shot to break up the Wolves’ epic comeback run.
Randle restricts Houston rebound opportunity
With the game knotted up at 108-108 and just 33 seconds left on the clock, Houston missed a late shot opportunity. On the rebound, the refs missed Randle grabbing Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate’s shoulder, which restricted Tate’s ability to grab the rebound. Hyland scooped up the rebound and proceeded to take the ball down the court, which led to Randle’s game-winning shot.
Again, another big miss here from a Houston standpoint as the following play led to the winning bucket.
Randle wrongly called for late foul
With just three seconds left on the clock in overtime, Randle was called for a shooting foul as Kevin Durant drove to the basket. Durant was sent to the line with a chance to equalize if he had made both free throws. The league deemed that Randle “maintained verticality” as he jumped, absorbing a leaping Durant shot attempt.
Minnesota was out of challenges and was unable to contest the call. Luckily, Durant missed the first attempt and purposely missed the second attempt to try and get the rebound for a desperation shot. The Wolves were able to grab the rebound and see out a chaotic late-season win.
Finch’s postgame complaint
“We should’ve won that game in regulation,” Finch said after the chaotic finish.
While noting that his team let Houston back in on numerous occasions, Finch was particularly focused on a call where Randle didn’t get a call that could have settled that game before overtime.
As time expired in the fourth quarter, Randle was driving to the basket for a last-second layup attempt. As Randle was jumping, Durant comes into contact with him and seemingly limits Randle’s ability to get vertical. Sengun then flies in and blocks the shot as time expires.
“This game should’ve ended at regulation,” said Finch. “Julius clearly gets fouled on the gather at the end of regulation, and guys were certainly frustrated.”
However, the league didn’t see it that way. In the report, the league writes that Durant “retreats his arm into a vertical position and absorbs the contact from Randle,” before Sengun blocks the shot attempt.
With the win, the Wolves improved to 45-28 and opened up a 1.5-game lead on the Rockets with just nine games remaining in the regular season. They will now have a couple of days to get ready for the top-seeded Detroit Pistons coming to town on Saturday.
