The referees missed a foul call on Kevin Love in the final possession of the Dallas Mavericks' 100-98 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves Monday night, the NBA officially announced:
NBA acknowledges referees missed foul on Kevin Love in Mavericks vs. Timberwolves game
The NBA reviewed a late-game play between the Mavericks and Timberwolves and acknowledged the referees missed a crucial call.
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sport
“Through postgame video review, we have determined that Minnesota’s Kevin Love was fouled on the right arm by Dallas’ Shawn Marion while attempting a two-point field goal. Love should have been awarded two free throws with one second left on the clock.”
The Timberwolves were down two with three seconds left in the fourth quarter and had the final possession. Kevin Love caught the inbound and was defended by Shawn Marion, who clearly fouled his right arm when he attempted a shot. The referees did not call the foul and the game ended on the play. Here's the missed call in slow motion:
Both Timerwolves head coach Rick Adelman and Love criticized the referees after the game. Adelman questioned if other superstar players, including Dirk Nowitzki, would have gotten the foul call in that situation while Love called it an "obvious foul," via Jon Krawcyznski of the Associated Press:
''He got fouled,'' Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. ''I wonder what that would have been if (Dirk) Nowitzki, LeBron James, all the top players in the league - a guy reaches on a last-second shot like that, instead of challenging it. Maybe they don't understand that Kevin is one of the top five players in this league. You make that call. But they didn't.''
''I'm the type of person that if you see a foul, an obvious foul, you call it,'' Love said. ''And I thought that was pretty, pretty obvious. ... You look at the replay and it was obvious he got arm.''
Love finished with 36 points and 11 rebounds, but the Mavericks were able to hold off Minnesota’s second-half run. Shawn Marion scored a season-high 32 points while also getting away with a missed call that would have sent Love to the free-throw line with a chance to the the game.
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