The Memphis Grizzlies should’ve had a chance to win their play-in tournament game against the Golden State Warriors in the closing seconds Tuesday at Chase Center.
With 10.5 seconds to play and the Warriors leading 117–116, Golden State guard Brandin Podziemski inbounded the ball to Steph Curry. Curry sprinted past the mid-court line before Memphis guard Ja Morant poked it loose out of bounds. Officials on the court awarded the next possession to the Warriors, but the NBA admitted Wednesday in its Last Two Minute Report that Curry actually touched the basketball last.
“After Morant reaches in and makes contact with the ball, it touches Curry’s hand last before going out of bounds,” the report reads. “Possession is awarded to Golden State, but should have been awarded to Memphis.”
If called correctly, the Grizzlies would have been awarded the basketball trailing by one point with 7.3 seconds left—plenty of time to draw up a potential game-winning play.
The Last Two Minute Report also revealed that the officials missed another call in the final minute—an errant foul charged to Podziemski. With Golden State leading 117–113 and 40 seconds remaining, Scotty Pippen Jr. had his fastbreak layup blocked by Podziemski. A foul was called, and Pippen made one of two free-throw attempts to trim the deficit to three points.
“Podziemski makes contact with the ball during Pippen Jr.’s shot attempt near the basket and any ensuing contact once the ball becomes loose is considered incidental,” the report reads.
Nevertheless, the Warriors closed out a 121-116 win over Memphis to advance to the postseason as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, setting up a matchup against the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets.
The Grizzlies, meanwhile, will play the winner of Wednesday night’s tilt between the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks to determine which team earns the No. 8 seed and the right to play No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder in the opening round.
