Isaiah Thomas missed a go-ahead three-point shot as time expired in the Celtics’ 92-91 loss to the Wizards on Friday, but it was a missed call moments earlier that may have cost Boston a fair shot at a Game 6 victory.
Celtics were robbed of 1.8 seconds on last play of Game 6
Kelly Olynyk was fouled immediately, but 1.8 seconds came off the clock on the game’s final possession
With 3.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Celtics inbounding the ball, Wizards forward Kelly Oubre was whistled for a foul on Kelly Olynyk. Washington had a foul to give, so Olynyk didn’t shoot free throws.
But even though Olynyk barely touched the ball when the whistle was blown, 1.8 seconds elapsed, leaving just 1.7 seconds left for Boston to get a shot. To make a more convincing argument, the referee signaled the foul with his hand at 2.8 seconds, but the crew did not double check the time remaining on the clock.
The Celtics settled for a heavily contested, fading three-pointer that never had a chance.
Usually a game can’t come down to a blown call at the end. Basketball games are won in 48 minutes, not the last few seconds. But kind of whiff on the referees’ end definitely cost the Celtics a shot at taking Game 6 home and moving on to the conference finals to dance with Cleveland.
An extra second is all the time in the world for a guy like Thomas, who came dangerously close to make that contested, fading triple. Instead, Boston’s got to defend home floor one more time in Game 7 where anything goes between two teams who have pounded each other all series long.
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