The NBA on Tuesday said via its Last Two Minute Report that officials erred by not calling a foul on Utah Jazz center Ruby Gobert in the closing seconds of Monday’s controversial win against the Pelicans in New Orleans.
With Utah up two, Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram drove directly at Gobert, who was at the rim. Gobert jumped straight up and made contact with Ingram’s right arm as he released the ball, but no foul was called.
The referees signaled the game was over after going to the review to see if there was any time left on the clock after any possible clock malfunction. Once they determined that — because rules prohibit them from retroactively adding a foul in that situation — the game was finished.
In its Last Two Minute Report, the NBA said Gobert did indeed make contact with Ingram’s arm during his shot attempt. Had it been called correctly, Ingram would have gone to the free throw line with a chance to send the game to overtime with .9 seconds left.
New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said after the game that he wasn’t given an explanation on the court for why there wasn’t a foul call.
“All we did was exactly what we were supposed to do, took the ball, drove it hard at the basket, and then they determined it wasn’t a foul,” Gentry said. “End of game.”