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[Saba Sports News] The NBA has now tallied a trio of critical officiating errors on game-winning plays in the past week.
The Milwaukee Bucks edged out the Houston Rockets on Monday in a nail-biting finish. With the Bucks trailing 100-99, Giannis Antetokounmpo blocked a shot by Alperen Sengun, leading to a rebound by Brook Lopez.
Antetokounmpo received a pass from Lopez and eventually handed the ball to Damian Lillard, who sealed the 101-100 victory with a clutch layup.
However, the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report, released Tuesday, revealed a key officiating error on the Bucks’ final possession. The report confirmed that Antetokounmpo was out of bounds when he received the pass from Lopez, a violation that went uncalled. A screenshot from the play clearly shows that more than half of Antetokounmpo’s left foot was out of bounds.
The missed call was significant. With the rebound considered a change of possession, the Rockets should have regained the ball with 21 seconds left and the shot clock off. The Bucks would likely have been forced to foul, making it much harder for them to secure the win, even with two timeouts remaining.
This is now the third major missed call by NBA referees in critical moments within days. On Saturday, Boston’s Jayson Tatum escaped a travel violation before hitting a game-winning three-pointer against the Toronto Raptors.
That same night, Minnesota’s Julius Randle also got away with a travel before sinking a buzzer-beater to defeat the Phoenix Suns. Now, the oversight on Antetokounmpo being out of bounds has capped off a week of costly officiating errors.