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NBA makes an admission about crucial no-call on James Harden’s 3

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated Nov 18, 2025 9:28 PM ET

The NBA is issuing a collective “our bad” after Monday night’s LA Clippers-Philadelphia 76ers game.

Philadelphia defeated the Clippers by a final score of 110-108 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pa. The Clippers had a chance to win the game in the final seconds, but James Harden missed two consecutive three-point attempts, including one that was heavily contested by 76ers guard Quentin Grimes.

Many fans were incensed because it appeared that Grimes had hit Harden on the elbow as Harden was shooting the ball. You can see the video for yourself here.

On Tuesday, the league admitted that Harden was fouled on the play. In the last two-minute (L2M) report for the game, the NBA stated that Grimes had made contact with Harden’s arm and should have been called for a foul. That would have given Harden three free throws with a chance to win the game.

The NBA says James Harden should have shot three free throws with the Clippers down 110-108 last night.

Grimes hit his arm on the go-ahead three-point attempt. pic.twitter.com/QOKECaJBV4
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) November 18, 2025

Even if the foul had been called and Harden had made all three foul shots (a solid bet since he is hitting them at an elite 92.2 percent rate this season), the Clippers still would have had to defend for the final 7.0 seconds of the game. That said, the NBA’s admission that the officiating crew made a mistake there will certainly have the Clippers feeling like the game was stolen from them.

The Clippers are now a rough 4-10 on the season, which is 12th in the Western Conference. While they did blow a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter to the 76ers, the refereeing mistake may go down as the Clippers’ lasting memory of that game.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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