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A great Christmas Day matchup between the Cavaliers and Warriors was a bit marred by some controversial officiating late in the game. In the final few minutes of the fourth quarter, Warriors forward Kevin Durant managed to escape several defensive sequences without getting whistled for a foul, despite significant contact. Ultimately, those sequences helped Golden State come away with a 99-92 victory.

On Tuesday, the NBA conceded that the officials missed not one, not two, but three calls on Durant in the final 72 seconds of the contest. The admission came via the league's Last Two Minute Report, which said that Durant fouled LeBron James on two separate sequences -- including twice in one sequence. 

The most egregious officiating error came with under 30 seconds left to go, when James drove the basket and was contested by Durant. You can watch the sequence below.

Not only did the officials miss two separate infractions on Durant, who made body-to-body contact that affected James' speed, quickness, balance and rhythm, but they also incorrectly determined that the ball was last touched by Durant (review later reversed this call, but a foul could not be called retroactively).

James should have been awarded two free throws thanks to the personal foul. Those chances from the charity stripe could have cut the Warriors' lead to just one point with 24.5 seconds remaining. Instead the ball went back to Golden State, allowing the Warriors to increase their lead and seal the win.

While there's no guarantee that the missed calls cost Cleveland a win, the refs certainly didn't do them many favors (but, in fairness, the officials did miss a late call on LeBron, too). You hate to see an otherwise great game significantly affected by those in stripes, but it's not a perfect science. Sometimes calls are missed, and sometimes it hurts more than you'd like.