Controversial no-call ends OKC Thunder winning streak

The OKC Thunder lost for the first time in six games after a controversial call wasn’t made. Giannis Antetokounmpo appeared to step out of bounds.

The Oklahoma City Thunder lost against the Milwaukee Bucks 97-95 after Giannis Antetokounmpo made the game-winning layup. It appeared that Antetokounmpo stepped out of bounds but the play could not be reviewed because there was no call of out of bounds made. For the OKC Thunder, it is a loss that will hurt.

The Thunder were down 41-19 at the start of the second quarter. Eventually they were able to go on a run and get the score down 65-62 by the 4:33 mark of the third quarter.

After Russell Westbrook shot a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game, there was just too much clock at the end of the game for Antetokounmpo.

The play should have been reviewed, but the rules state that if there is no call then it can’t be reviewed. The league has to do something to make plays like this get looked at. It was a critical play and should have been able to be reviewed.

A way to solve this would be to give teams a “challenge” option where a play they feel can be changed can be looked at by the referees. A team can get one challenge for the game and they can use it at any point of the game.

Certain things would have to be looked at like pace of the game because a challenge could stop a fast break or the speed of the game.

It would be up to the refs to decide when they would be able to review the challenge that the team set forth just like how when they review if a 3-pointer is really a 3 or a 2. They usually do that when the next break comes.

Challenging if a play was a foul or not could open the flood gates, but it will give teams another tool in the shed to be able to ensure victory for their team. Making games quicker is what the league is going for, but making sure the right team wins is more important.

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That one play was not the only reason why the Thunder lost though. There was the fact that they didn’t have Paul George, which was big. Westbrook had 40 points. The rest of the Thunder starters combined for 23 points.

A lack of scoring is the reason they were down by so much in the beginning of the game.

The Thunder have a three-games-in-five-nights stretch, so George could have been out just to rest.

The next five games are all against Western Conference teams, but the plus side is all those teams are below them in the conference standings. Those teams are the Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, and Portland Trail Blazers.

Combined these teams have a record of 68-105. This game could be avenged with a five-game winning streak if they can beat these five inferior opponents.

Next: 2018 NBA Mock Draft: End of 2017 edition

Getting off to a good start in January will be key. OKC has gotten itself out of a hole by climbing up the standings to the fifth seed, but now getting to the elite category will take a longer winning streak than six games.