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Refs: Waiters should have been called for offensive foul

Christian Petersen / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Following the Oklahoma City Thunder's stunning 98-97 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 on Monday, NBA officials admitted Dion Waiters should have been called for an offensive foul after shoving Manu Ginobili during a key inbound play during the final seconds of the controversial finish.

In a statement released by lead referee Ken Mauer after the game, officials said they missed the call on Waiters and the Spurs should have been awarded possession.

"On the floor, we did not see a foul on the play," Mauer told Mike Monroe of the Rivard Report. "However, upon further 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, but we feel we should have had an offensive foul on Waiters."

The wild sequence unfolded when Ginobili was trying to protect against Waiters' inbound pass, and got so close he appeared to step out of bounds. In an effort to create space between he and Ginobili, Waiters used his elbow to push the Spurs' guard away before throwing the ball to Kevin Durant, who was stripped by Danny Green.

Patty Mills then airballed an open 3-pointer, and the Spurs were unable to get off another shot attempt.

Monday's improbable finish also saw a Spurs fan grab Steven Adams' arm as he crashed into the stands in an apparent effort to prevent the Thunder center from joining the play with 2.2 seconds left on the clock. The Thunder win evened the best-of-seven series 1-1.

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