Why didn't the officials give the Wolves more time to end Game 4?

Initially, the game clock read 0.1 seconds before the officials huddled and somehow decided to add two-tenths of a second, putting 0.3 seconds on the clock.

The Trent Tucker Rule is in place for situations like this. In 1990, the Knicks had 0.1 seconds left when Tucker caught a pass, turned and shot the game-winning bucket. The NBA later determined that 0.3 seconds is necessary for a player to catch-and-shoot. Anything less requires a tip-in.

But how did the refs conclude that 0.3 seconds was the right amount of time to put on the clock? The ESPN cameras clearly showed 0.6 or 0.5 remaining when the ball was in the fan's hands. Did the officials estimate that more time would've ticked off the clock had the fan not caught the ball? If they did, it appears to be a violation of the NBA rulebook.

According to the NBA's rules, the ball "is out-of-bounds when it touches a player who is out-of-bounds or any other person, the floor, or any object on, above or outside of a boundary or the supports or back of the backboard." The rule says nothing about a fan standing or sitting when making contact with the ball.

Were the refs privy to a different clock than the one fans, both in the building and watching at home, saw? Why didn't they go to the monitors and review to make sure they got the time correct?

What wound up happening was Julius Randle's inbound pass was picked off by the Thunder and Minnesota never got a shot off. But had the Wolves had 0.6 or 0.5 seconds, they might've been able to draw up a more favorable catch-and-shoot play design. It still would've required some Laettner-like magic, but you never know what might happen in a situation like that.

Alas, this conversation isn't even happening if the Wolves didn't have 22 turnovers and give up 19 offensive rebounds. It is what it is, and the only hope now is becoming the 15th team in NBA history to win a series after trailing three games to one.

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