Watch: Referees miss most obvious foul of the playoffs
All eyes were on Devin Booker during his 45-point Game 3. Except for the officials.
The referees missed a blatant, intentional foul on Booker with 2:30 to go when he went to stop a Russell Westbrook fast break with a two-handed shove.
Instead of two free throws for the Clippers, the play resulted in a turnover out of bounds and Suns ball. In a game where the Clippers cut the lead to three points late, it was a huge non-call. Especially when the game had been called relatively tightly before that play, and Booker was clearly fouling on purpose.
That wasn't the only decision that went the Suns' way in the game. Phoenix shot 46 free throws in the game, compared to L.A.'s 25, and ended up scoring 16 more points from the line. That's the same number of free throws that the Los Angeles Lakers shot against Phoenix last month, which led Monty Williams to complain about the foul disparity in his postgame press conference.
"When do you see 46 free throws?" Williams asked incredulously after that contest.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue almost criticized the officiating in his own press conference Thursday night, but held back at the last second.
Williams drew a $20,000 fine from the NBA after that, so Lue likely saved himself some money by avoiding an explicit criticism of the officials. Would he have been fined if he merely played the clip of Williams complaining instead?
It's too late to do anything about the non-call, which by its nature is non-reviewable. But if the NBA truly wants to make up for the mistake, there's a simple remedy: Assign Scott Foster to work Game 4.
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