The NBA released an extensive Last Two Minute report about the final moments of the Boston Celtics’ 104-103 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. The report revealed two missed calls, both of which went against Boston, but found no issues with the foul on Jimmy Butler with three seconds remaining. The report stated that the officials missed two things among the 32 the league reviewed from the final 120 seconds of game action. These included a missed lane violation by Heat forward Caleb Martin on a free throw Brown missed with 1:01 remaining in the fourth quarter and a foul on Jayson Tatum by Heat guard Gabe Vincent on a drive to the basket with 33.5 seconds remaining. Although the play ended with Tatum being blocked by Bam Adebayo, Miami got the ball back.
No Issues with Foul Call
Despite the missed calls, the report found no issues with the foul call against Al Horford on Butler’s 3-point attempt with three seconds remaining. Referee Josh Tiven originally called the foul on Horford with 2.1 seconds remaining and ruled it a two-shot foul. The league would have reviewed the play to see whether it was going to be a two-shot or three-shot foul. However, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla challenged the call, giving the NBA the ability to look at the entire play. The league reviewed the film and saw that Horford’s arm came across Butler’s arms and fouled him with three seconds to go, thus adding an additional nine-tenths of a second to the clock.
The Final Moments
Butler hit all three free throws to give Miami a one-point lead, but Derrick White’s putback of Marcus Smart’s potential game-winning jumper was released with just a tenth of a second showing on the clock. The basket gave the Celtics a stunning win and forced the series to a seventh game in Boston on Memorial Day. The other debate about the Butler play was over whether he double-dribbled after losing the ball. The report said that Butler did not, with the explanation being that Butler “fumbles the ball out of his control when he ends his dribble, then recovers it and legally attempts a field goal.”
The NBA released a report revealing missed calls in the final moments of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. The report found two missed calls that went against Boston and no issues with the foul call against Al Horford on Jimmy Butler’s 3-point attempt with three seconds remaining. Butler hit all three free throws, giving Miami a one-point lead, but Derrick White’s putback in the final seconds gave Boston the win and forced the series to a seventh game in Boston on Memorial Day.
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