NBA agrees (partially) with Rockets on arbitration
This will not fail to strengthen words fromMaking Udokawhich launched after defeat of Rockets among Nuggets if it was ” worst refereeing game “which he saw” some time ».
Adding later that “(Referees Natalie Sago and Jamal Rawls) had no business here and the ref (Zach Zarba) seemed impressed. We had all kinds of inconsistent decisions, and I’m sure we could have seen more technical fouls. We’re not going to settle for poor officiating. We’re going to do what we have to do and hope the ref makes the right decision. ».
Indeed, the day after this declaration, the NBA admitted that its referees made not one, not two, but three refereeing errors in the last two minutes of overtime in between Denver etc Houston !
Three mistakes that mostly benefited the same team, namely the Nuggets, as the Rockets saw Kevin Durant and then Amen Thompson get called for fouls that shouldn’t have been called. When Tim Hardaway Jr. was lucky not to get called for a foul that should have been called.
Kevin Durant’s foul, 1 minute 40 from the end, brought Nikola Jokic two free throws, which put Denver at +5, while the counter “KD” was clean. Almost immediately, Tim Hardaway Jr. pushed Alperin Sengoun without rebuke (at 126-122). Then, with 47 seconds left, Amen Thompson’s foul gifted two free throws to Jamal Murray, who cut the deficit to +6, while the interception attempt was legal.
On the other hand, the NBA did not go back to the true turning point of the match, which happened at the very end of the fourth quarter, when Jamal Murray managed to steal the extra time, on a free throw obtained after very light contact between Amen Thompson and Tim Hardaway Jr., who tripped at the moment of the throw. Udoka’s name may have been challenged, the “challenge” resulted in nothing and the Nuggets therefore ended up winning.
Unlike Ime Udoka, Kevin Durant was more measured: ” It’s unfortunate, but judges can’t always make the right decision. »
2025-12-17 13:33:00
