NBA rules James Harden was not fouled on late 3-point attempt against Warriors in Game 1
The NBA refs got it right. Houston Rockets star James Harden was not fouled on a possible game-tying 3-pointer with 10 seconds left in Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors.
The NBA released its Two Minute Report for the contest and ruled the officials made a correct non-call on the play. That should draw more frustration from Harden, who was not happy with the refs following the Rockets’ 104-100 loss.
With the Rockets down by three, Harden pulled up for a possible game-tying shot with just 10 seconds on the clock. As Harden came down, his feet got tangled with Draymond Green’s legs. Harden hit the floor, but no foul was called.
Harden wasn’t the only player with questions about the officiating. Warriors guard Stephen Curry was also curious about some of the fouls he received in the game.
Like Harden, Curry is not going to be happy about the league’s findings. The league found two plays in which Curry should have been charged with another foul. One came when he forced Harden out of bounds with 1:10 left on the clock. The other came with 5.2 seconds left, when Curry made contact with Eric Gordon to knock the ball away.
Curry finished the contest with five fouls. Had he been called for the foul on Gordon, Curry would have fouled out. He would not have hit a big 3 with 25 seconds left.
That not only will frustrate Curry, but it also feeds into a report suggesting the Rockets have research proving the Warriors get favorable calls.
Both players will be hoping for a better result in Game 2 on Tuesday. The same can be said of Chris Paul, who was ejected from the game in the final seconds after making contact with an official.
While Paul denied he touched the ref, the NBA ruled that was the correct call.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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