South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
NBA: Butler fouled twice on final possession
DALLAS — The Miami Heat may have been two missed calls away from a different fate in their
113-110 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Per the NBA’s last
2-minute report, the Lakers committed two fouls against Jimmy Butler that weren’t called on the Heat’s final possession of the game.
The first foul occurred during the inbounds pass with 4.1 seconds left in the game. According to the report, “During the inbound pass, [LeBron] James (LAL) is late to the spot and initiates contact with Butler (MIA) that affects his [freedom of movement].”
Had the foul been called, Butler would’ve received two free throws and the Heat would’ve had possession of the ball with 4.1 seconds remaining because the foul on Butler was before the throw-in during the inbounds play.
The second missed call happened during Butler’s potential game-tying
3-pointer.
Per the report, “[Anthony] Davis (LAL) moves into Butler’s (MIA) space and makes contact to his body that affects his jump shot attempt. The contact is not created by Butler’s leg extension.”
Butler would’ve received three free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining if the foul was called.
Heat forward Jimmy Butler stands on the court during Friday’s game versus the Lakers.
His shot fell short and the Heat dropped their first home game of the season, with the Lakers winning their 13th consecutive road game.
The referees also missed a double-dribble call against the Lakers’ Danny Green earlier in the fourth quarter.
Per the report, “Green (LAL) ends his dribble and gathers the ball. He then makes a pass, is the first player to touch the ball, and dribbles once again.”
Had the correct call been made, the Heat would’ve received the ball down 110-107 with 1 minute, 16 seconds left in the game. Instead, Kendrick Nunn was called for a foul on the possession one second later.
Miami started a threegame road trip Saturday night against the Dallas Mavericks before playing the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday and the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.