NBA Admits To Missed Crunch-Time Call In Celtics-Warriors Clash

With no Kristaps Porzingis or Jaylen Brown, the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors turned Wednesday night’s much-anticipated 2022 NBA Finals rematch — or as others referred to it, the Jayson Tatum revenge game — into a nail-bitter.

Golden State head coach Steve Kerr, as expected, was introduced to a roaring outpour of long-awaited boos, over two months after USA Basketball wrapped up its Olympic run and Tatum had logged two benchings. Yet, Kerr’s aggressive defensive game plan caught Boston off guard, including Tatum, who tallied just eight points with four turnovers by halftime, leaving it up to the Celtics to re-adjust in the second half.

Tatum finished with a game-leading 32 points as Boston put aside its uncharacteristic 16-point second quarter and unleashed a 41-point third frame over the Warriors. Still, it wasn’t enough to come away victoriously as Golden State’s timely capitalization of Boston’s untimely miscues — missed assignments, allowing offensive rebounds and offensive execution — rewarded the Warriors in their 118-112 win over the Celtics. Although… the NBA, in hindsight, revealed one major non-call was missed.

Warriors center Kevon Looney, according to the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report published Thursday, committed a shooting foul on Tatum with 1:09 minutes left in the contest. Tatum, in frustration after the 16-foot jumper, clapped his hands toward the nearest official as Boston missed out on a chance to cash in on two free-throw attempts while training Golden State, 108-104, at the time.

Just moments later, and on the very next possession, the missed call haunted the Celtics.

Golden State’s Buddy Hield caught Tatum shagging off defensively and took advantage of the breathing room by drilling a clutch 3-pointer to put the Warriors ahead, 111-104, with 47 seconds left on the clock. By that time, there was nothing left for the Celtics to do but swallow the tough pill that was their first home loss of the season.

“Anytime two good teams play together, it comes down to the details at the end of the day and I think they executed a little bit better than we did,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said postgame, per NBC Sports Boston. “I thought our execution was better (in the second half). Our spacing was better, we found the reads faster and we were just as physical on offense as we were on defense. … We gave up three offensive rebounds and missed Buddy Hield on an open three, and just the small details on the open floor.”

Tatum and Kerr will meet again in Golden State on Jan. 20.