HOUSTON — Basketball games aren’t decided by one particular play, but NBA officials are now admitting that they missed a critical call late in Utah’s 102-97 loss to the Houston Rockets on Monday.
Reigning MVP James Harden ended with 47 points, including the game-winning dagger with 13.3 ticks remaining, but it was the possession before that where he got away with an illegal move.
Matched up in an isolation situation with Ricky Rubio, Harden made two consecutive stepback moves before hoisting up a 3-point attempt and receiving a foul call. After review, the official Twitter account of NBA referees admitted Tuesday afternoon that they got it wrong, but it doesn’t change the outcome.