The Golden State Warriors painful loss to the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night was not without a little bit of controversy. The Dubs were helped back into the game when longtime rival Dillon Brooks seemingly punched Steph Curry in the stomach, resulting in a Flagrant Foul 1 that easily could have been a Flagrant Foul 2. More memorably, however, was the play in the final seconds. After Brooks missed a shot in the final seconds of a tied game, Moses Moody was called for a loose ball foul with just 0.4 seconds, gifting Jordan Goodwin a pair of free throws, needing just one to effectively end the game. After creating drama by missing the first, Goodwin sank the second, leading the Suns to a 99-98 victory.
On Friday morning, the NBA did what it does with all close games: it reviewed every call and non-call in the final two minutes, and decided whether or not the game was called correctly. Their determination on Moody’s controversial foul? Correct call.
Although Moody (GSW) makes contact to the ball, he also makes more than marginal contact to Goodwin’s (PHX) head/neck area and to his arm. After communicating with the Replay Center, it is determined that the foul occurs with 0.4 seconds remaining on the game clock
It’s not surprising that the league is standing by the call. By the letter of the law, it was the correct call, so a video review was always going to uphold it.
But I have to agree with Steve Kerr here: it’s not a call that is usually made at that juncture of a game, especially in that situation (Goodwin almost surely would not have been able to get a shot off before the buzzer sounded). Perhaps the NBA can’t say it explicitly, but the game is officiated differently in the final minutes, and while the Moody foul was in line with the technical rules, it certainly wasn’t in line with the spirit of how close games are called late.
In all, the NBA found 14 instances of calls or non-calls in the final two minutes, and deemed all 14 to have been officiated correctly.