The Cleveland Cavaliers did not have luck on their side when they took on the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. They had multiple chances to win the game, but they missed two critical free throws and weren’t able to make the one play they needed to as they fell 122-119 in overtime.
At the same time, they were on the wrong end of several critical calls that ended up costing them the game, according to the league’s Last Two Minute Report.
The league admitted that there were four incorrect calls in the last two minutes of regulation and the last two minutes of overtime. Three of the missed calls benefited Detroit and played a large role in them coming away with the win. Let’s review each of these missed calls.
First, Jaylon Tyson’s turnover with just under two minutes left that helped spur Detroit’s comeback shouldn’t have happened. A review of the play indicates that Jalen Duran fouled Jarrett Allen when he attempted to make the pass.
Here is the league’s comment for the missed call: “Duren’s (DET) hand slides off the ball and initiates contact with Allen’s (CLE) wrist, affecting his ability to make his intended pass. The illegal contact causes the errant pass.”
The Cavs were firmly in control of the game at this time, and Cade Cunningham had just fouled out. If this is called on Duran, as it should’ve been, then the game probably ends in a much more anticlimactic way.
The second incorrect call forced Allen to miss the rest of the fourth quarter and overtime. Allen was whistled for a shooting foul against Duran, which led to free throws with 48 seconds remaining.
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The report states: “Allen (CLE) makes contact with the ball and legally blocks Duren’s (DET) shot attempt at the basket.”
This missed call cost the Cavs the most. It meant that they had to play the rest of the game without their best player that evening, and the Pistons received two points in what should’ve been an empty possession. This call was the one that the Cavs’ locker room most vocally disagreed with afterward, even though Allen took the high road.
“You know, everybody’s biased, I don’t think so,” Allen said when asked afterward if he felt the block on Duren was a foul. “But obviously the refs have different angles, so I’m not going to complain about it.”
The Cavs weren’t able to challenge this missed call since they had already won two challenges earlier in the game. However, if this play had been reviewed, the officials would’ve likely overturned the call on the floor. It was pretty clear that Allen didn’t foul Duren.
The third missed call was the only one that benefited the Cavs.
Cleveland shouldn’t have been awarded the ball when Marcus Sasser knocked the ball out of Tyson’s hand shortly after he came down with an offensive rebound off of Craig Porter Jr.’s missed free throw with under 10 seconds left in regulation.
The report states: “Sasser (DET) cleanly dislodges the ball from Tyson (CLE) and Tyson is the last player to touch the ball before it goes out of bounds. Possession should be awarded to the Pistons.”
This missed call gave Evan Mobley a chance to win the game at the line. If he made both, it would’ve been a two-possession game, but he split them, giving Detroit a chance to tie the game on their final possession.
The last errant call happened at the end of overtime. Sam Merrill should’ve been awarded three free throws after Sasser closed out too hard while trying to contest a potential game-tying three with 18 seconds in overtime.
The report states: Sasser (DET) contests Merrill’s (CLE) jump shot attempt and initiates illegal lower-body contact following the release of the shot attempt.
This was the most egregious missed call of the four. I’m not sure how this wasn’t called a shooting foul at the time. Sasser wrongly went under the screen and closed out way too hard. This is a foul at every level of basketball.
It’s worth noting that the league agreed with the call on the floor that Daniss Jenkins was attempting a half-court shot when Tyson intentionally fouled him at the end of regulation. The report says that Jenkins was in the upward shooting motion when Tyson contacted him.
The Cavs had chances to win this road game, and still should’ve even though these calls went against them. However, if any of the three missed calls that went against the Cavs were called correctly on the floor, the outcome of this game would’ve been different.
