ESPN
The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 of their playoff series with a wild final 13.5 seconds that overshadowed a great game.
While most of the NBA world focused on Dion Waiters’ shove of Manu Ginobili, the NBA came out on Tuesday and admitted that the refs actually blew five calls in those final seconds and that the shove was just one blown call that could have changed the outcome of the game.
In all, three of the calls missed should have gone against the Spurs, including Ginobili stepping on the sideline and hindering the inbounds pass, and two players blatantly grabbing Thunder players during the play.
As for the Thunder, in addition to missing the shove by Waiters, the NBA also says that a foul should have been called on the final shot attempt by LaMarcus Aldridge, who had his jersey grabbed.
Here are each of the missed calls as highlighted by ESPN. You can see a clearer view of the foul on Aldridge below:
Associated Press photographer Eric Gay captured the foul on Aldridge just before he grabbed the ball and attempted the shot:
Eric Gay/AP
Before the admission of the NBA, the officials had already admitted a foul should have been called on Waiters. Crew chief Ken Mauer released a statement, saying, “Upon review we realize and we agree that we should have had an offensive foul on the play. It’s a play that we have never seen before, ever.”
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