Rockets forward Kevin Durant
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
The Thunder eked out a win over the Rockets in double overtime on Tuesday night while ushering in the new NBA season. However, the game probably should have been over after the first OT when you consider Kevin Durant called a timeout Houston didn’t have—a mistake that went unpunished thanks to the officials who issued a very underwhelming explanation for that oversight.
Chris Webber spent 15 years in the NBA during a career where he was named to the All-Star Team five times, had his number retired by the Kings, and was eventually inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. However, you can’t talk about his legacy without discussing what transpired during what ended up being his final game at Michigan.
Webber and the “Fab Five” punched their ticket to the national championship two years in a row, and in 1993, they were hoping to get some redemption against North Carolina after getting blown out by Duke in the title game the previous year.
The Wolverines had the chance to either tie things up or take the lead after getting the ball down 73-71 with less than 20 seconds to go in the fourth quarter of their showdown with the Tar Heels, but Webber essentially sealed the deal by calling a timeout his team didn’t have before getting hit with a technical foul.
The stakes were a bit lower when Kevin Durant pulled the same move during the season opener between the Thunder and the Rockets on Tuesday, but he nonetheless treated us to our first officiating controversy of the year.
Every single ref on the court failed to notice Kevin Durant signaled for a timeout the Rockets didn’t have in the closing seconds of overtime
The Thunder kicked off their quest to defend their championship against the Rockets on Tuesday night, and we were treated to a fantastic contest as the NBA on NBC returned for the first time in over 20 years.
The two squads were knotted at 104 points apiece at the end of regulation, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander attempted a shot that would have put Oklahoma City up by two in the closing seconds of overtime only to have it swatted by Tari Eason.
The ball ended up in the hands of Durant, who attempted to call a timeout with a little over a second left—one that was not granted and could not have been because Houston had used their second and final one around 15 seconds before.
He should have been hit with a technical foul that would have given the Thunder the chance to take the lead, but the referees ignored the pleas of the players and coaches who unsuccessfully lobbied for the call before Oklahoma City ultimately got the 125-124 victory in double overtime.
We got some insight into why the refs didn’t send the Thunder to the line after the game courtesy of crew chief Zach Zarba, who simply explained:
“None of the three game officials saw Kevin signal that timeout. That’s why it wasn’t granted before the expiration of time.”
Alrighty then.