NBA admits wrong call on Giannis Antetokounmpo at end of Bucks' loss to Hornets

NBA admits wrong call on Giannis Antetokounmpo at end of Bucks’ loss to Hornets

Posted by Admin November 17, 2024 NBA

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CHARLOTTE – There is a trophy awarded to the NBA Defensive Player of the Year that has Giannis Antetokounmpo’s name on it, and in the Milwaukee Bucks’ last two games the 7-footer has made end-of-game plays that could have made a highlight reel for such a distinction.

On Wednesday night he blocked an inbound alley-oop attempt to Detroit guard Ron Holland II with a second remaining.

On Saturday, Antetokounmpo switched onto lightning quick, 6-foot, 7-inch Charlotte guard LaMelo Ball and bottled him up to the point he fell down and lost his dribble with 7.3 seconds remaining.

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But in both instances, a whistle ended each play. In both instances, Antetokounmpo was called for a foul.

Remarkably, in both instances, the NBA acknowledged the whistles were blown in error. The league releases a last two-minute report for each game reviewing all the calls and non-calls, and on Thursday it said that “Any ensuing contact is incidental. The foul call is incorrect, but officials trigger a replay review to determine the timing of the foul call.”

The Bucks wound up beating the Pistons in overtime on Wednesday after Holland II missed two potential game-winning free throws.

Milwaukee lost on Sunday, 115-114, as Ball hit both of his free throws – and Antetokounmpo missed a potential game-winning shot of his own. And they didn’t have to wait a day to find out an error was made.

Following the game, crew chief Curtis Blair acknowledged that the leg-to-leg contact that they initially called on Antetokounmpo was incorrect.

“During postgame review when we looked at the play there was no illegal contact on the play,” Blair said.

He added that if the Bucks had a timeout and a challenge in that moment, the call would have been overturned. The Bucks had used their final challenge on a block/charge call on forward Taurean Prince with 1:07 to go.

Rivers met with the media before Blair’s pool report with the Charlotte Observer was completed, and he went on a lengthy rant:

“I thought the final play was the ref blowing a call. This is back-to-back games now where the final play there’s been an incorrect call made. LaMelo Ball fell. He just fell down. Nobody was near him. Slipped on his own. We come up with the ball, the game’s over. So back-to-back games now we’ve had a call made against us that was incorrect.

“We were lucky in Detroit, the kid missed two free throws. Tonight, LaMelo Ball made the free throws. And there was clearly not a foul. When you watch the video the ref that called the foul was blocked out by one of our players. You can’t guess at the end of a game. Guys, both teams have played too hard. You can’t guess.

“The free throws tonight were 21 to 11 in their favor in the game Giannis played. Giannis took one free throw. Go back three pays when Giannis dunks, the whole team fouled him. The whole team fouled him! And it’s a no-call. Giannis drives to the basket, because he’s powerful, and they hit him on the arm and they can hit him in the face and because he keeps going he doesn’t get credit for the contact that he’s creating.

“Giannis was in the paint – you were at the game right? – he was in the paint the whole night. Someone explain to me how Giannis gets one free throw? But more importantly through all that, we played through all that, it comes down to two teams playing hard. We get the switch we wanted. We have wanted Giannis on LaMelo Ball, our biggest guy, one of the best defenders in the league. And we call a phantom foul. Like these mistakes can’t happen.

“I probably would be frustrated if this was just tonight but now this is back-to-back nights that this has happened to us.”

Asked if he was given an explanation for the call, Rivers said, “He didn’t have an explanation. I think you guys should go to the refs and do the pool report and get an explanation. I want to ask, first, how did he see it? Unless he can see (Taurean Prince) there’s no way he could see it. And, it wasn’t a foul. So, that’s what upsets us. We’re playing hard, we got Dame (Lillard) out, we got Khris Middleton out, we got guys (hurt), we’re playing great, we’re playing together, and you just can’t do what you did at the end of the game with that call.

“If you’re not 100% sure, even if you saw contact but you’re not sure you can’t make it. But the one thing you can’t do is guess. And that was a complete guess and we got hurt by it. And that’s just not fair.”

Clearly frustrated by not just those calls but the fact Antetokounmpo shot just one free throw, Rivers added, “Giannis is being guarded by two hands – there’s every rule that’s being broken when he’s being guarded and we won’t call it, but then we get these little tick-tack fouls at the end of a game that’s game-deciders. Both plays – what’s nuts to me – both plays Giannis was involved. Here’s the rule, if you’re not going to call fouls on Giannis, you cannot call a foul on him, right? You gotta do one of the two. So it’s just really frustrating.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo met the media after the pool report was conducted and was told about the officials admission of an erroneous call.

“I’ve been in the league for, this is my 12^th year, rule No. 1 – don’t give away your money,” he said. “And rule No. 2, don’t forget rule No. 1. So I’m not going to comment on that. Thank you.”

But, he did like the fact that Rivers stuck up for him so vociferously.

“I appreciate it,” Antetokounmpo said. “I definitely appreciate it and he has my back I have his back.”