Welcome to the NBA Hangover. We jot down NBA stuff mostly from last night that we want to talk about. Check it out.
This dunk by James Harden went through the hoop and it did NOT count.
So the Rockets lost a double overtime game against the San Antonio Spurs. This might come back to haunt them. By no means am I blaming this single play on why the Rockets collapsed against them but it certainly didn’t help.
Okay. Let’s look at the video.
(VIDEO CREDIT: Bleacher Report.)
Of course, in real time, it’s a little rough to tell. But in slow motion, it was clear the ball went through the hoop.
The officials didn’t count it. Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni did try to challenge it:
D’Antoni said he was initially told the Harden dunk hit him and was offensive goaltending. He said he challenged that and was told no, it was not goaltending but went out off Harden, so he challenged that. Officials, D’Antoni said, told him he could not challenge.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) December 4, 2019
Wait a minute. Both things can be challenged. From NBA.Com:
And then we got THIS explanation:
I’m pretty sure D’Antoni wanted it to be reviewed immediately after the call was made. It was like the officials were preventing him from making the challenge. And of course, time would elapse by then. Simply put, this was just a huge botched call by the officials.
And I don’t get it. It seems easy enough to review. Like I said, I’ll be the first to say that I admire the way the officials call the game of basketball because it is SO fast-paced and it is so hard to call any violation in real time with the strongest and fastest athletes in the world today. But this one? They just messed up. It’s almost like they don’t know the new replay rules. Why even have them?
The Rockets are thinking of making a protest. It is an 82-game season but one win could make a difference between a playoff spot or making the playoffs altogether (in this case, maybe the Spurs will be on the borderline). What could happen is that a two-point win in regulation could be given to Houston or they might replay the last 7:50 of that game (the time when Harden’s dunk happened).
Let’s not take anything away from the Spurs. They took advantage of what happened and jumped on a Rockets team that lost momentum and focus. As for the Rockets, they were still leading by 13 points and anyone holding that big of a lead with 7:50 left is likely to win the game. But the Rockets lost and had to play two overtimes to lose that game. Also, credit to Lonnie Walker IV, who got off the pine and scored 28 points.
But this ended up being the most bizarre play of the NBA this season. And the ramifications of this play could go longer than Tuesday night.
Bullet Passes
Before that 28-point outburst by Lonnie Walker IV, he had only 80 total career points. He was the San Antonio Spurs‘ first round pick in 2018 and the reason why he hadn’t gotten much PT was his court awareness on both ends wasn’t up to par. While not perfect, Walker certainly helped the Spurs get the W, even though it is in controversial fashion.
Yeah, Harden went for 50 but it was an UGLY 50 if there is such a thing. He went 11 for 38 from the field (4 for 20 from three, whooooaaaaaaa) but made all 24 free throws, which is an NBA record for most made foul shots without a miss in an NBA regular season game (Dirk NowitzkI also went 24 for 24 but in the playoffs).
Harden’s scoring average has gone up to 39.5 points per game, which is still certifiably insane.
By the way, DeMar DeRozan got the game-winning DEFENSIVE play. DeRozan is never known for his defense but he came up big on that end against Harden.
Luka Doncic could’ve gotten his first 20-rebound game of his career as he had 18 at the end of three. But the Mavericks pulled away (mainly to Seth Curry‘s shooting) from the Pelicans. The Mavs are becoming more and more dangerous, it seems.
Denver had a chance to prove to the naysayers that they do belong in the upper tier of Western Conference teams but they failed that test against the #1 Lakers. The offense has been a question the entire season. Even though the Nuggets are still pretty good at 13-5, they all understand that as Nikola Jokic goes, so does the offense. Jokic is having career-lows on all types of shooting (field goal, free throw, and three) and is only averaging 15.4 points compared to 20.1 last season.
We had two of the more surprising teams in the East clash and Miami came away with the duke. Jimmy Butler went for a cool 22-13-12 triple-double. The Heat also handed the Raptors their first home loss of the season. But I mean, Toronto can’t really win if Kyle Lowry goes 2 for 18. Yikes.
Bradley Beal continues his scoring tear as he went for 42 in a loss against Orlando. That’s the 4th time in 19 games that he has scored 40 or more.
Watch This Play
Walker makes the three that ties the game. For a bonus round, here’s Jakob Poeltl absolutely erasing Harden’s attempt at a game-winner.
(VIDEO CREDIT: UNB! Sports.)
This could be a turning point for the Spurs. We’ll see.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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