NBA rules Harden's Game 3 winner should have been offensive foul

James Harden's fadeaway jumper with 2.7 seconds remaining in Game 3 of the Houston Rockets-Golden State Warriors series on Thursday night should have never counted.

The NBA released its Last Two Minute Report for the game on Friday, noting that Harden should have been called for an offensive foul on the play.

"Harden (HOU) initiates the contract with (Andre) Iguodala (GSW) to create space and dislodges him from his legal guarding position," the report says.

Upon reviewing the sequence, it's clear that the four-time All-Star pushes off Iguodala with his right hand during his spinning dribble drive before knocking down the game-winning bucket.

Had the whistle been blown, Golden State would have received the basketball with approximately five seconds remaining with their 96-95 lead still intact.

Since the foul wasn't called, Harden's shot put the Rockets up 97-96, which is how Game 3 at the Toyota Center ultimately ended.