The ending of Wednesday night’s Magic vs. Lakers game fell prey to a bizarre shot clock malfunction with 0.6 seconds left during an Orlando inbounds play. The shot clock began the moment Mario Hezonja inbounded the ball; it isn’t supposed to start running until a player on the floor touches it.
NBA officials explain why a clock malfunction in Magic vs. Lakers ended with a jump ball
The shot clock went off before anyone touched the ball. The rulebook says that’s a jump ball, even with only 0.6 seconds left.
The errant shot clock prompted the officials to review the play, and once the NBA Replay Center in Secaucus, N.J. got a look at it, it was ruled that there would be a jump ball to decide who got the ball, not a replay of the final possession.
The Magic never got a chance to run a play. They lost, 108-107.
NBA Crew Chief Bill Spooner met with The Orange County Register’s Bill Oram after the game, and he said the jump ball is the ruling because “the ball is midair when the shot clock malfunctioned, therefore, the ruling is, because there’s no possession when the shot clock goes off, the ruling is that there’s a jump ball, center circle.”
Spooner referenced Rule 13E-9-2 of the official NBA Rulebook for the decision.
One thing we know for sure is this: There’s no way in hell Aaron Gordon was getting to that ball, not even with 10 seconds left on the clock. That wasn’t the best executed play, and it was an even worse pass that landed right in Lonzo Ball’s hands.
But the shot clock should have never started early on that Magic possession in the first place. This is the second time a Staples Center shot clock operator has inadvertently began the clock early on an opponent’s final possession. In mid-December, the Wizards lost a chance to hit a game-winner against the Clippers because the clock started too soon.
When asked whose responsibility it is to start the shot clock, Spooner said it’s both the officials’ and the scorer’s table, “It just depends on whoever gets to it first.”
It’s 2018, guys, let’s get an app for that.
Either way, if you’re a Magic fan, you’re probably not too upset with the outcome. Orlando’s loss moved them into a five-way tie for the third-worst record in the league. The tank is in full effect.
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