Major NBA officiating error! Rockets benefited four times yet still lost in overtime to Kings; multiple missed violations on Durant and Shengjing

On December 23rd Beijing time, the NBA officially released the referee report for the last two minutes of the fourth quarter and the final two minutes of overtime in the Rockets vs. Kings game. The report revealed five officiating mistakes during these four minutes, with the Rockets benefiting from four and the Kings from one. Despite the advantage, the Rockets ultimately lost to the Kings 124-125 in overtime.

The first missed call occurred with 1:57 left in the fourth quarter. The report indicated that Durant of the Rockets failed to advance the ball past midcourt within 8 seconds. This 8-second violation was overlooked, benefiting the Rockets while disadvantaging the Kings.

The second missed call happened with 1:32 remaining in the fourth quarter. Murray of the Kings made contact with Thompson’s arm during defense, disrupting Thompson’s shooting motion, which should have been called a defensive foul. This missed call favored the Kings and was detrimental to the Rockets.

The third missed call took place with 28.4 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Durant moved his pivot foot while creating space, which should have been called traveling. This traveling violation was missed, benefiting the Rockets and hurting the Kings.

The fourth missed call was also overlooked, occurring with 1:13 left in overtime. Shengjing stayed in the restricted area for more than 3 seconds, which should have been called a three-second violation. This was missed, giving an advantage to the Rockets and a disadvantage to the Kings.

The fifth mistake was an incorrect call, happening with 10.5 seconds remaining in overtime. The report stated that Westbrook legally contested Small Smith’s jump shot. Small Smith raised his right knee into Westbrook during the shot, but Westbrook could have avoided any contact during his defensive jump. Therefore, Westbrook’s defensive foul should not have been called, again benefiting the Rockets and hurting the Kings.

Although the Kings were on the losing end of four of the five errors, they still showed great resilience to overturn the Rockets in overtime. The Rockets faltered again at critical moments, having lost 8 out of 9 games where the final 5 minutes had a margin of 5 points or less.