NBA refs admit major mistake

Final moments of Game 2 between the Knicks and 76ers.

Monday’s Game 2 matchup between the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers featured a miraculous comeback in the final minute from the Knicks to take a 2-0 series lead. But it now turns out that they never should have had the opportunity to complete the comeback in the first place.

The Knicks benefitted from a turnover on the 76ers’ inbound pass with 16.1 seconds to go in the game, which ultimately resulted in Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo hitting a three-point shot to give them a one-point lead, which they would not relinquish.

Many 76ers players argued after the game that Maxey was fouled on the inbound play which prevented him from catching the ball cleanly. And it turns out that these were very valid complaints.

After each game, a report on the officiating of the game called the “Last 2 Minute” report is done to determine how well the referees officiating the game did their job down the stretch of the game.

The “Last 2 Minute” report from Monday’s game determined that there were four incorrect calls in the final two minutes of the game. Two of which were on the inbound play, as it was determined that both Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart committed fouls on Maxey that were not called.

Here is a clip of the final sequence of the game. You be the judge, but it does seem like Maxey dealt with a ton of contact on the play.

Nobody will ever know if the 76ers still would have gone on to win this game if a foul call was correctly made. But their odds would have been pretty high to do so. And this series could very well be 1-1 instead of a 2-0 Knicks lead.

[Ian Begley]