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Call upheld in Thunder-Clippers game

Alan Draper profile picture
Sports Editor
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The NBA backed the call made by the officials late in the Oklahoma City Thunder-Los Angeles Clippers playoff game on Tuesday night in Oklahoma City.

NBA president of basketball operations Rod Thorn announced Wednesday that the referees did not have clear and conducive evidence after viewing replay to overturn the out-of-bounds ruling that went in favor of the Thunder.

Oklahoma City went on to post a 105-104 victory that left Clippers coach Doc Rivers fuming. The Thunder took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference series.

The Clippers protested that Thunder guard Reggie Jackson knocked the ball out of bounds with 11.3 seconds left. The officials awarded the ball to Oklahoma City and then stuck with their initial ruling after reviewing replay.

“With 11.3 seconds left in the game, the basketball went out of bounds on the baseline and the referees ruled the ball belonged to the Thunder,” Thorn said in a statement. “The referees then used instant replay to review the play. In order to reverse the call made on the court, there has to be ‘clear and conclusive’ evidence. Since no replay provided such evidence, the play correctly stood as called with the Thunder retaining possession.”

Rivers protested the pivotal call to no avail.

“It was our ball,” Rivers said after the game. “Everybody knows it was our ball. The bottom line is they thought it was a foul and they made up for it. In my opinion, let’s take away the replay system. Because that’s our ball, we win the game. We got robbed because of that call.”

Alan is an expert gambling writer who works as one of the chief editors for Basketball Insiders. He has been covering online gambling and sports betting for over 8 years, having written for the likes of Sportlens, Compare.bet, The Sports Daily, 90min, and TopRatedCasinos.co.uk. His particular specialisms include US online casinos and gambling regulations, and soccer and basketball betting. Based in London, Alan holds an MA in English Literature and is a passionate supporter of Chelsea FC.

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