The Cleveland Cavaliers have been on the wrong end of a few calls this season late in games. Whether or not they were in the closing moments of their Game 3 win over the Detroit Pistons didn’t matter. The Cavs, specifically James Harden, hit enough shots late to secure the victory to trim the Pistons’ lead in the series to 2-1.
One of those shots seemed like it could’ve been called a shooting foul in the moment, but wasn’t.
With 30 seconds left in a one-point game, Harden attacked Tobias Harris in isolation
with a side-step three. Harris flew into Harden, knocking him to the ground. It didn’t affect the shot, as the three-ball went through, but it seemed like this should’ve been a foul even though it wasn’t called one in the moment.
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The NBA agreed with this not being called a foul, according to The Last Two Minute Report they released on Sunday afternoon.
The report states that this was called correctly on the floor, saying: “Harris (DET) jumps to contest Harden’s (CLE) jump shot attempt, but would otherwise avoid making contact if not for Harden extending forward.”
I’m not sure if I can get behind this reasoning. Harden’s momentum is taking him forward, but Harris clearly jumps forward and initiates the contact. This wasn’t a situation where Harden stuck out his legs to draw or exaggerate contact. The space that Harden created with his sidestep caused forced
Either way, the call doesn’t matter too much at the end of the day. Harden hit the shot, and the Cavs won the game.
The Last Two Minute Report states that there were no missed calls in the closing moments of Game 3.
