NBA Official Explains Ruling In Wild Celtics-Cavaliers Ending

The Celtics looked like they were going to walk out of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse with another win, but Boston left Cleveland with more questions than answers.

Dean Wade led the Cavaliers to a 22-point comeback in the fourth quarter. The fifth-year forward outscored Boston in the final frame 20-17, to give the Cavs the 105-104 win.

Jayson Tatum had a chance to prevent Cleveland from completing the franchise’s largest fourth-quarter comeback, but an initial foul call in the final second of the game was overturned after Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff challenged the call.

Tatum gave a subdued reaction to the “weird” ending, but Jaylen Brown and Joe Mazzulla criticized the team for its lack of effort and authority to close out the game.

It was a close call on Darius Garland, but the pool report after the game was definitive on the ruling.

“In our opinion, there was clear and conclusive evidence that the leg extension by Tatum created that marginal contact with the defender Garland, where otherwise contact wouldn’t have been made,” crew chief Zach Zarba said in the referees’ pool report,” per The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach. “That’s why it was overturned.”

It wasn’t the first time this season Boston was on the wrong end of an overturned call. A foul call on then-Indiana Pacers guard Buddy Hield on Brown was overturned, which created a stir with everyone on the Celtics, who lost the game in the final seconds.

The loss snapped the Celtics’ 11-game win streak, and they’ll hope to bounce back in a tough road matchup against the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets on Thursday.