2016 NBA Playoffs: What Happened On The Final Play Of Spurs vs. Thunder Game 2?

In the most controversial sequence of the 2016 NBA Playoffs, there were a series of missed calls at the end of Game 2 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.

Monday night in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals, a great basketball game between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder was marred by a series of no-calls that ignited NBA Twitter into cries of outrage and conspiracy.

Coming off a 32-point loss in Game 1, the Thunder entered Game 2 with a renewed sense of energy and focus, building a double-digit lead in the first quarter and fighting off every Spurs rally over the next two quarters. When San Antonio cut OKC’s lead down to one entering the fourth quarter, it appeared as though the script had been preordained for a Thunder team that had blown 15 fourth quarter leads already this season.

Oh, if only it had been that simple.

With the Thunder leading by five points and only 33 seconds remaining, the Spurs needed a big-time basket against a team notorious for poor defense and even worse execution. They got it from LaMarcus Aldridge, who knocked down a three-pointer on an unbelievable pass from Tony Parker:

San Antonio then had to foul and Russell Westbrook knocked down two big free throws to extend the lead to four, 98-94. Aldridge, who finished with a game-high 41 points, drew a foul on Serge Ibaka on the ensuing play, getting him to bite on pump fake on a three-point attempt. Aldridge knocked down all three free throws, cutting OKC’s lead to one with 13.5 seconds left.

What happened on the next play can only be described as pure chaos.

Holding onto a 98-97 lead, the Thunder had Dion Waiters bring the ball in from the sideline. Manu Ginobili closely guarded him, the five-second count was nearing its conclusion and in his desperation, Waiters created separation by giving Ginobili a shove with his elbow before jumping to throw in the inbounds pass:

The pass was barely caught by Kevin Durant, but he was quickly double-teamed and Danny Green stripped the ball. He threw it ahead to Patty Mills, but his pass sailed a little too high for the Spurs to capitalize on their three-on-one advantage against Steven Adams.

Mills got the ball back to Ginobili, who dribbled toward the basket and passed up a potential floater to whip a pass over his head back out to Mills in the corner for three. Adams, who prevented Mills from attempting a layup in the first place, quickly contested the fading corner three, which came up as an airball.

Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge were unable to corral the rebound and the clock struck zero, resulting in a Game 2 victory for the Thunder that tied the series 1-1 and gave the Spurs their second home loss of the entire 2015-16 campaign. Just try and soak in the pure basketball anarchy one more time:

The obvious focal point, however, was Waiters’ elbow into Ginobili’s chest that the Spurs immediately contested (after the final buzzer had sounded of course, since they didn’t stop to complain once they stole the ball from Durant and had a transition opportunity).

To be clear, something should’ve been called on Waiters there. According to NBA referee Ken Mauer, an offensive foul should’ve been called and the Spurs should’ve been awarded possession. It shouldn’t have resulted in technical fouls, but San Antonio would’ve gotten the ball on the sidelines and Gregg Popovich would’ve had the opportunity to draw up a game-winning set.

According to NBC’s Dan Feldman, who went straight to the rulebook to examine the possible violations Waiters may have committed, there was no specific rule that he broke. In other words, there’s nothing there about making contact with an on-ball defender in that situation.

Obviously an elbow to the chest is a clear violation, even if it’s not explicitly laid out in the rulebook. Waiters jumped to throw his inbounds pass as well.

But there’s another problem for Spurs fans crying conspiracy: Manu Ginobili was way too close to Waiters on that inbounds pass.

This should come as no surprise. Ginobili is notorious for getting too close to inbounders, and it was no coincidence that he was defending the inbounds pass in the first place.

But as the photo evidence shows, Ginobili’s foot was clearly on the line before Waiters threw the ball in.

Even if the referee hadn’t asked Ginobili to back up and give Waiters the required three feet of space, crossing the plane of that sideline should have resulted in a technical foul in the last two minutes of a game.

It doesn’t matter that Ginobili was not on the line when Waiters threw the elbow or when he threw the ball into play; the moment Ginobili’s foot stepped on the line, it should’ve been a technical foul for the Thunder:

It’s also possible that a delay of game could have been called as well:

The no-call on Waiters’ elbow was blatant, but it shouldn’t have mattered. Even if OKC hadn’t been awarded with a technical free throw for Ginobili overstepping the boundary, Waiters probably wouldn’t have thrown that elbow if Ginobili had been told to back up in the first place.

That’s not the only problem with Spurs fans’ conspiracy theories, however. How about the obvious fact that the play completely worked out in San Antonio’s favor thanks to that no-call?

For starters, Danny Green may have gotten away with a foul on Kevin Durant, which led to the game-changing turnover after KD caught Waiters’ ill-advised pass.

That would’ve been a weak foul call with the game on the line, but there’s also the undeniable truth that the Spurs had a great opportunity the moment Green emerged with that ball.

In fact, it was probably preferable to what the Spurs may have been able to conjure up from the sidelines. Popovich is a tactical genius, but the Spurs had the advantage of a fast break opportunity against an unset defense.

For those starting to wonder about bias, these are takes from a well-known Spurs beat reporter and a general NBA writer:

But wait, there’s more! Instead of dwelling on the violation that not a single Spurs fan cared about after they saw their team emerge with the ball, how about we focus on the real root of their anger: Danny Green’s off-target pass that prevented Patty Mills from converting an easy, go-ahead basket.

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Let’s put it this way: Had Green thrown an accurate pass ahead to Mills to give the Spurs the victory, there wouldn’t be a single person in San Antonio complaining about that no-call.

If Green had not thrown the ball so far ahead, Mills would’ve had a layup and the Spurs would’ve had the lead with about eight seconds left. OKC would’ve had a chance to take the lead back, but the NBA’s top ranked defense could’ve closed it out with one defensive stop.

Long story short: Danny Green should’ve made a better pass. (Again, these are from a Spurs beat writer and a Warriors beat writer who’s enjoyed every matchup between Golden State and San Antonio this year.)

If we really want to start dredging up what could have or should have been called over those final 13.5 seconds, let’s bring up how Kawhi Leonard was grabbing Russell Westbrook’s jersey on the inbounds pass:

We could also mention how a fan was seen clinging to Steven Adams after he crashed into the stands while contesting Mills’ corner three.

Was the woman just trying to find her footing? Was she trying to hinder his return to the action? We can’t know either way, but it’s still a thing that happened and would’ve conjured up just as much controversy had the Spurs pulled out the win.

Of course, there were other violations on the Thunder that were missed as well, so don’t think this is just the faults committed by the Spurs.

Aside from the obvious Waiters push-off and the fact that he jumped to throw his inbounds pass, there’s a very clear photo from the Associated Press that shows LaMarcus Aldridge’s jersey being held on the Mills three, preventing him from coming up with the rebound:

But there’s an undeniable irony in Spurs fans complaining about a controversial no-call in a late-game situation…against a team notorious for blowing close games…on a play where the Spurs had a three-on-one opportunity that should’ve led to a go-ahead layup…after they’ve been on the other side of that kind of play so many times before.

Just ask Phoenix Suns fans about the time Steve Nash got body-checked into the scorer’s table in a far more blatant offense than Waiters’ push-off, and how it actually wound up costing the Suns Boris Diaw and Amar’e Stoudemire in a pivotal, series-altering playoff game because they were suspended just for leaving Phoenix’s bench.

Hell, even Ginobili himself admitted that no-call was not the difference in the outcome of the game, adhering to the school of thought that if you have to depend on an official’s call in a close game, you probably should’ve played better in the first place.

If Ginobili’s not biting on that “Refs cost us the game!” excuse, no one else should be either.

All in all, the Thunder got the win. No amount of replays, whining, b****ing, or Last Two Minutes reports will change the fact that the series is now tied, 1-1. If anything, the Spurs will have extra motivation heading into Friday’s Game 3, with plenty of time between now and then to marinate on what they’ll perceive as a slight.

Given the amount of missed calls on BOTH sides in Game 2’s final possession, here’s all that really matters: The Spurs got a steal, they had a fast break opportunity and they failed to execute. It’s not always about the refs.

For those thinking an out-of-bounds set would’ve yielded a better result, San Antonio had a timeout, so let’s not even go down that road either.

Was it unfortunate that the final possession of a high intensity, highly enjoyable playoff game was tainted by so many blatant missed calls? Yes.

But amidst all the chaos over those 13.5 seconds, that whole sequence might have played out differently if the official had just asked Manu Ginobili to back up — the first offense on a long list of offenses that didn’t ultimately change San Antonio’s failure to execute on a golden opportunity to steal the lead back.

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The officials royally f**ked up at the end of Game 2 between the Spurs and Thunder. But hey, at least they royally f**ked up on both sides.