Down to the wire
The Thunder lost in the last second Friday night, losing to the Bucks, 97-95.
The neon yellow tape stretched from baseline-to-baseline creating a barricade. It’s a common security measure postgame at Chesapeake Energy Arena, but Friday night it seemed particularly appropriate.
The screams rained down on the hardwood from the stands. Thunder players crowded around the scorer’s table, their index fingers swirling around as they called for a replay review. Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo’s left Nike looked to be kissing the baseline when he scored a go-ahead layup with 0.9 of a second left.
No review. Not reviewable. Bucks 97, Thunder 95 — OKC’s six-game winning streak snapped in heartbreaking fashion.
“They said that they cannot review it,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “That’s the only explanation I got.”
According to the NBA, that’s on the nose. “In any reviewable matter, there has to be a whistle call on the floor,” crew
chief Derrick Stafford told a pool reporter following the game. “There was no whistle blown for the play, so we couldn’t review it.”
Russell Westbrook scored his game-high 40th point on a 3-pointer that tied the game at 95-all with 5.7 seconds left after the Thunder trailed by as many as 22 points. But with Andre Roberson on the bench nursing an injury, the Thunder was short its best defender on the final possession.
Josh Huestis, who started the third quarter in place of Alex Abrines, did his best to stop Antetokounmpo. He almost did, as “The Greek Freak” muscled past him on the baseline and clearly stepped on the line before flushing a layup over the outstretched arm of Westbrook.
“At the end of the day, you can’t control reffing,” Huestis said. “I put it on myself to play a little bit better defense and stop him from spinning baseline, period.”
With Paul George out with a sore left knee, the Thunder had to find extra defense any way they could against the Bucks, even in the most unlikely of places.
When Westbrook came back into the game with 8:29 left in the second quarter and the Thunder facing a 20-point deficit, he had to break the emergency glass. He stood still, braced for impact, and had his first charge drawn of the season.
The second quarter marked the return of the Thunder’s defensive integrity. Three minutes into the quarter, the Thunder was down 20 and had only forced one turnover. The effect of missing George, the league leader in steals and deflections, was evident.
George’s importance was further magnified by the 7-of-20 shooting from the Thunder in the first quarter. George had been on an absolute tear from 3-point range in the Thunder’s longest winning streak of the season, shooting 48.8 percent from deep and hitting 35 percent of the Thunder’s 3-pointers (20-of-57). Without him, the Thunder started 2-of-11 from three, and were 5-of-22 with 2:36 left in the game.
Westbrook’s answer when asked if George’s absence affected the Thunder offense’s flow: “Obviously.”
But the Bucks, like Memphis in a Thunder overtime win three weeks ago, gifted the Thunder extra chances in the fourth quarter. Milwaukee missed 1-of-8 from the free throw line in the second half, including two from Eric Bledsoe with a chance to ice the game with 10.5 seconds left ... which led to Westbrook’s 3-pointer.
A 3-pointer which was promptly erased by a controversial score.
“I couldn’t see it,” Westbrook said. “I was trying to stop him, but I obviously think you’ve seen it. It’s over now. It don’t matter.”
Said Donovan said when asked if he has issue with Antetokounmpo’s foot on the line not being reviewable. “I look at things totally differently. The league and the officials, they have to deal with that. That’s what they’re in control of, we’re not.
“I’m more concerned with the fact that we didn’t play well in the first quarter.”