The Houston Rockets have some more ammunition for their longstanding allegations that NBA officials are working against them.
The final 24 seconds of the fourth quarter in the Oklahoma City Thunder's 119-107 overtime win over the Rockets on Saturday were as controversial as they were exciting. With Houston leading by a point, James Harden and Chris Paul got tangled up before the ball was inbounded, and after review it was determined that the foul was on Paul, sending Harden to the line for one free throw and the Rockets retained possession.
The ensuing play, however, is where the controversy lies. There was another tussle before the inbound pass, this time between Rockets guard Eric Gordon and Thunder guard Dennis Schroder. Both tumbled to the ground while PJ Tucker's pass went out of bounds untouched.
No foul was called, resulting in an OKC possession that led to a go-ahead 3-pointer by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Rockets wound up tying the game and forcing overtime but were blitzed after Harden picked up his sixth foul less than a minute into the extra frame.
On Sunday, the NBA's Last Two Minute Report ruled that there actually should have been a foul called on Schroder, which would have given the Rockets one free throw and the ball out of bounds:
"Schroder (OKC) wraps his right arm across the front of Gordon's (HOU) body, which dislodges him during the inbound."
Yeesh. If Gordon makes the free throw, the Rockets are up two with the ball and 24 seconds left, putting them in a pretty good position to win the game in regulation and take a 3-0 lead in the series. Instead, they lost in overtime, and the Thunder have new life trailing 2-1.
"I hate to even talk about that. Because as strong as I am, ain't nobody going to throw me to the ground," Gordon said when told of the ruling, via Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. "Just got to move on."
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has been vocal in the past about the NBA incorrectly officiating the Rockets. According to a report from Sam Amick and Kelly Iko of The Athletic, Morey and the Rockets made a formal, data-driven case to the league about their rival Golden State Warriors getting preferential treatment from officials, especially in the 2018 Western Conference finals. From The Athletic:
And after the Rockets went through every line, tallying all the missed calls for each team and adding up the potential points that were lost along the way, it wasn't pretty: The Rockets, according to the sources, had a double-digit point deficit in six of the seven games (and a small edge in Game 2). In all, sources say, they were harmed to the tune of 93 points. Game 7 was the worst, the research showed, with the league-issued report indicating they should have had 18 more points. More specifically, two of the 27 consecutive missed 3-pointers that did them in were ruled to have been missed foul calls.
According to the report, the Rockets also supplied evidence that the league's more experienced officials were less likely to call fouls when a defender infringed on the landing space of a 3-point shooter, the so-called "Zaza Pachulia rule."
For what it's worth, Harden has led the NBA in free throw attempts in seven of the last eight seasons. Since joining the Rockets in 2012, however, he's seen his free throw attempts drop from 10.4 per game in the regular season to 9.4 per game in the playoffs. During the disputed 2018 playoffs, Harden averaged 7.8 free throw attempts per game.
Every team has calls go against them, and it's a shame whenever it happens, but that doesn't necessarily mean the league has a vendetta against you. On the court, the Rockets complain after pretty much every single call or non-call, so it's not much of a surprise that things have escalated to the level of conspiracy.
If they go on to lose this series to the Thunder, you better believe Morey is going to have something to say about it.
