NBA Releases Traditional Report on Last Two Minutes of Game 4
The NBA released its traditional report on the final two minutes of Game 4 of the Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks. The league admitted that referees missed one infraction in favor of each team.
But the key play happened at 1:03 before the buzzer, when the ball went out of bounds near Stephon Castle. The referees gave the out-of-bounds violation to the Knicks, but the report says that decision was wrong.
The Critical Out-of-Bounds Error That Hurt the Spurs
The NBA calculated that Josh Hart blocked Castle’s path before the ball went out and violated the rules. This means possession should have stayed with the Spurs.
The incident occurred during a crucial stretch when both teams were trading scoring baskets and the score difference was minimal. Losing the ball deprived the Spurs of another opportunity to finish their attack and possibly earn foul shots.
In the Finals series, Castle has taken important free throws in the final moments several times.
The NBA, however, did not limit itself to admitting an error in favor of San Antonio. The report also noted that shortly before the controversial out-of-bounds call, referees missed a defensive three-second violation by Victor Wembanyama.
So the league recorded one missed infraction for each team in the last two minutes.
Why This Episode Matters for the Game’s Overall Story
This is a significant play when looking at the overall officiating of the match. The Knicks didn’t get a defensive three-second violation called on Wembanyama, and the Spurs didn’t get a foul on Hart for blocking Castle, which was incorrectly marked as an out-of-bounds violation.
Both decisions influenced how possessions developed, but neither was the type that automatically changes the score or the outcome of the game.
Game 4 Still Went to New York Because of Agbaji’s Clutch Bucket
Game 4 remained with the New York Knicks thanks to Ochai Agbaji’s productive finishing in the closing moments.
After the report was published, some officiating decisions once again became the center of discussion. However, the league’s report shows missed violations for both the Knicks and the Spurs.
The final outcome stayed the same: New York won the game.
