NBA: Officials missed illegal screen on Wolves’ winner
Immediately after Minnesota’s Andrew Wiggins banked in a 3-pointer to beat the Thunder on Sunday night, Oklahoma City’s Carmelo Anthony turned to officials to insist they’d missed an illegal screen on the Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns.
On Monday, the NBA concurred with that assessment of the pick that took Paul George out of the final play in the Wolves’ 115-113 win.
The league’s last two minute report concluded that while it was a “close play” and Towns “establishes a screening position in George’s path before the contact,” his “stance is wide and contact occurs to his leg area, which makes the screen illegal.”
It was ruled an “incorrect no call” by the league.
Anthony had given the Thunder a 113-112 lead on a 3-pointer with 5.1 seconds to play, and that keyed the other controversy of the closing seconds.
Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau appeared to signal for a timeout after Anthony’s bucket. But the Wolves didn’t have a timeout remaining.
If an official had seen the call — the one nearest Thibodeau had his back to the coach — Minnesota would have been granted timeout and assessed a technical foul, giving the Thunder a free throw and possession of the ball.
The last two minute report concludes that Thibodeau “can be seen quickly signaling for a timeout behind the back of the slot official then immediately waving his players up the court.”
According to the report, “By the time the referee is in a position to notice Thibodeau, he is not signaling a timeout and play moves up the court.” Because no official was in position to see Thibodeau, the play isn’t ruled an incorrect call.
Those weren’t the only plays the last two minute report showed officials missed.
The Wolves’ Taj Gibson should have been called for a shooting foul on Raymond Felton with 1:52 to play; Felton fouled Wiggins on a shot with 38.2 seconds to play; and OKC’s Steven Adams should have been whistled for a three-second violation at the 1:37 mark, according to the report.
Roberson had knee procedure
Thunder coach Billy Donovan raised some eyebrows on Sunday when he suggested that an injury might be part of the reason Roberson hasn’t been up to his usual defensive standard early this season.
“I still think he’s working to get himself back to where he was at the end of last season defensively,” Donovan said before the Thunder’s loss to Minnesota. “He’s not quite there yet, which is understandable. But again, all these guys, whether it be Patrick (Patterson) or Andre who have missed significant time here or there, it’s gonna take them a little bit of time to get them back to where they were.”
Though the Thunder hadn’t previously announced it, Roberson did have what a team spokesman on Monday called a plasma treatment on his left knee over the summer.
Roberson has had significant time to recover from the June procedure. By August, when he traveled to New Zealand for Adams’ basketball camps there, he was running and jumping.
Blue announces camp roster
Two former Oklahoma State players are in camp with the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s G League affiliate announced on Monday.
Guard Markel Brown, who was in training camp with the Thunder, is on the Blue’s camp roster, as is Michael Cobbins, who last played for the Cowboys in 2015.
Among other notable names on the Blue’s camp roster are two-way players Daniel Hamilton and PJ Dozier, who can spend up to 45 days with the Thunder. Guard Bryce Alford and forwards Yannis Morin, Rashawn Thomas and Chris Wright, who also were with the Thunder at times during preseason camp, are on the Blue’s 16-man camp roster.