The Oklahoma City Thunder took Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors on Monday night, and Russell Westbrook played a huge part in the comeback victory for OKC. Not only did Russ drop 27 points to go with 12 assists, he also got some help from a referee in the closing seconds of the game.
Leading by three points with 18 seconds left in the game, Westbrook took the ball over halfcourt and tried to stop quickly to call a timeout. As he attempted to come to a stop, he dragged his pivot foot, which should have led to a travel being called and the ball going back to Golden State in a one-possession game.
Instead, the timeout was awarded and the Thunder would hold on for the win.
Here’s what the NBA’s SVP of Replay and Referee Operations had to say after the game:
“You have a tough play here,” NBA Senior Vice President of Replay and Referee Operations Joe Borgia said in a post-game interview with NBA TV. “It’s an unfortunate miss, but so much going on in the play, the speed of it, and officiating is about getting angles and sometimes you just can’t get them, and they did not get a great angle on that play.”
