L2M stands by decision to review Durant charge, says refs missed Green lane violation
The Last Two Minute Report for Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors was released Friday, and it supports the in-game officials' decision to review the critical play that was initially called an offensive foul on Kevin Durant with 36 seconds left in regulation.
The only trigger for a replay review on an offensive foul call is if the referees are unsure whether the defender taking the foul was inside the restricted area. That was their justification for reviewing (and ultimately reversing) the call on Durant, despite the fact that LeBron James - who had slid over to take the charge - appeared to be comfortably outside the circle. Instead of being Cavaliers ball with a two-point lead, it was two free throws for Durant.
"The crew was not reasonably certain whether James was in the restricted area after an offensive foul was called against Durant," the report states. "Upon replay review, it was confirmed that James was outside the restricted area. The referees also reviewed whether James was in a legal guarding position, which is an additional reviewable matter for this replay trigger. Replay showed James was not in a legal guarding position because he was turning his body and moving into Durant when contact occurred."
The report showed two blown calls in the final two minutes of regulation. The first was an uncalled foul on Draymond Green when he grabbed James' arm with 12 seconds to play. A foul call on that play would've sent James to the free-throw line instead of George Hill, who was fouled eight seconds later. Hill is a significantly better free-throw shooter than James, so in a vacuum, the missed call didn't hurt the Cavs. Of course, Hill missed the second free throw, so it's fair to wonder.
The report also found that Green committed a lane violation on Hill's missed free throw, but deemed it "incidental or immaterial," possibly because it would've been impossible to call in real time, or possibly because J.R. Smith grabbed the offensive rebound anyway. Had it been called, though, Hill would've gotten to take the free throw over. Again, given the way things played out, it's fair to wonder.