Refs Admit Blowing Call In Clippers’ Win Over 76ers

NBA officials admitted to missing a foul call in the closing seconds of a game Wednesday night, which led the Los Angeles Clippers to a 108-107 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Both teams are vying for better playoff positions deep in the regular season.

Referee Kevin Scott said in a pool report that the crew reviewed the final play after the game. They concluded that Clippers forward Paul George made contact with the 76ers’ Kelly Oubre Jr., who was driving to the basket in an attempt to score the winning basket.

“In real time the crew interpreted that play as the defender jumping vertically,” Scott said. “However, in post-game video review we did observe some slight drift to his left by the defender George, and a foul should have been ruled.”

With the defeat, the 76ers fell to 39-34 on the season, putting them in eighth place in the Eastern Conference and a half-game behind the Miami Heat. The Clippers improved to 45-27, keeping them in fourth in the Western Conference and providing some breathing room ahead of the Pelicans and Mavericks.

76ers coach Nick Nurse vigorously fought with referees during the game and still expressed dismay for multiple calls afterward. By then, however, he seemed to accept the officiating error as a part of the game.

“I looked it on our computer screen a couple times [and] I thought there was certainly contact,” Nurse said. “Certainly as much as the last two or three that got called and-1s at the other end. And that’s all. I just thought it was enough contact to call. But that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

With most of the regular season behind both teams, the 76ers and Clippers seem destined to very different postseason paths. Philadelphia, which has underperformed with reigning MVP Joel Embiid on the roster, could face a Play-In Tournament series if the team doesn’t make up ground quickly. The Clippers have a safer postseason berth but will have to navigate an extremely competitive Western Conference to reach the Finals.