Phoenix Suns guard Eric Gordon made a three-pointer with under three minutes to go to pull within four of the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, or so everyone thought.
Gordon’s triple, which would have cut Atlanta’s lead to 125-121, was quickly overturned and taken off the scoreboard while play was still going on. The reversal made it a 125-118 advantage for the Hawks, who won the game 129-120.
In the post-game pool report, NBA official Zach Zarba said Gordon “jumped from out of bounds,” which led to the three points being removed. Zarba said the call was made by the NBA Replay Center in Secaucus, New Jersey.
“Any made field goals close to the three-point line are reviewed by the replay center in Secaucus and one of the reviewable triggers is does someone jump from out of bounds on their shot, so that’s why it was taken away,” Zarba told azcentral’s Duane Rankin.
Gordon told Rankin after the game that the decision was “very unusual” and said he wasn’t sure if he had seen a similar call during his 16-year NBA career.
Gordon finished the game with six points in 28 minutes of play, while Kevin Durant carried the load offensively for the Suns, scoring a game-high 35 points with five three-pointers. Devin Booker added 24 of his own, but Bradley Beal struggled from the field, finishing with 14 points and 10 assists on a night in which he shot 5-16 from the field and 0-7 from deep.
The star of the night was Trae Young, who tallied 32 points (7-11 on threes), 15 assists, and three steals in 42 minutes of action. It was his 30th game this season in which he’s recorded at least 10 assists. Young was recently left off the Eastern Conference All-Star roster despite averaging 27 points and 11 assists per game.
The Suns will visit Beal’s former team, the Washington Wizards on Sunday. This will be the first time Beal will have played the Wizards or in Washington since he was traded to Phoenix in the offseason. Beal, who spent 11 seasons in Washington, missed the Suns’ home victory against the Wizards on Dec. 17 due to injury.
Atlanta hosts the Golden State Warriors on Saturday in the second half of a back-to-back.
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