NBA games aren’t won in the waning seconds of overtime. The final result is a culmination of 48 minutes worth of action, and any coach will be the first to tell you that.
Heat lose chance to go for win against Wizards due to uncalled 5-second violation
A five-second was never called even though it appeared the Wizards took more than five seconds on a late-game inbounds play.
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
But try explaining this to the Miami Heat, who appeared to be robbed of a possession in the final few moments of their nail-biting 117-113 loss to the Wizards on Tuesday night.
The Heat played incredible defense on a Wizards inbounds play with just a few seconds left in regulation. The only problem? The referees appeared to give Washington extra time to get the ball in.
Even the Wizards announcing team counted past five seconds on replay.
The NBA referees responded Wednesday by saying the ball was released before the official in question finished counting to five.
The NBA rulebook simply states that five seconds begins as soon as the official hands the ball off to the inbounder. At that point, the referee themselves count to five seconds.
This no-call is particularly painful because of the playoff implications of the Miami-Washington matchup. The Wizards were riding a three-game losing streak and were in danger of falling out of their fifth-place standing in the Eastern Conference. The Heat, meanwhile, desperately needed a victory to break their tie for eighth place with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Neither happened. Now, we’re left to wonder how that controversial no-call will influence the playoff picture moving forward.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include the referee response.
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