NBA refs union: We've never seen a foul like Waiters'
Tuesday meant damage control for NBA officiating in the wake of Monday's wacky finish to Game 2 of the Thunder-Spurs series.
Related: 7 crazy things that shouldn't have happened at end of Thunder-Spurs
The National Basketball Referees Association (NBRA) released a brief statement saying they'd never encountered a similar situation before, specifically Dion Waiters' clear offensive foul on Manu Ginobili while inbounding the ball with 13.5 seconds left in the Thunder's 98-97 win.
The end of game inbound foul in #OKCvsSAS was one we've never seen before & we missed it. We'll incorporate this in training moving forward.
— NBA Referees (@OfficialNBARefs) May 3, 2016
The statement echoes remarks made by lead referee Ken Mauer after the game, admitting the mistake.
"On the floor, we did not see a foul on the play," Mauer said, despite the fact that official Marc Davis was standing feet from the play, appearing to watch. "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 NBRA's release didn't mention the other potential three missed calls that ensued in the final 14 seconds.