The NBA Officiating Last Two Minute Report said that there was a "missed 5-second call -- not an incorrect call" -- on Bucks F Giannis Antetokounmpo’s winning shot Wednesday night against the Knicks at MSG, according to Charles Gardner of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL. The "difference was 0.6 seconds, something that would be quite difficult for the officials to call in that game-deciding situation" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 1/6). In N.Y., Mike Vorkunov notes the report said that the "foul was detectable only with the help of a stopwatch," and thus "was not ruled an incorrect noncall by the referees." The report also found that Knicks F Carmelo Anthony had "committed a defensive three-second violation with 4.8 seconds left by standing in the lane without guarding anyone" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/6). SB NATION's Tom Ziller wrote what the L2M reports have "really done is emphasize how excellent the referees are (at least, in the final two minutes)." The National Basketball Referees Association itself "touted the high success rate." They claimed the reports revealed a 97% "success rate in analyzed calls." Ziller: "That’s an excellent mark, something the refs should be proud of." This is the "true aim of the NBA, not to throw the refs under the bus or create a hostile environment for officials." It is to "show how fairly its games are conducted." For a league that had a "major ref scandal within the past decade, transparency is critical" (SBNATION.com, 1/3).
