The Kings suffered a heartbreaking missed call at the end of their thrilling 101-100 defeat at TD Garden on Friday night against the Boston Celtics.
Five seconds remained in the game, and Sacramento was down one point. Kings guard De’Aaron Fox missed a potentially game-winning jump shot, and guard Keegan Murray rebounded it. Murray missed the second chance, and rookie Colby Jones looked like he was swatted in the face by Celtics guard/forward Svi Mykhailiuk on the put-back attempt.
It was an improper non-call by the officials because Jones was in fact fouled during the play, according to the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report, which was made public on Saturday. The report said the following:
Comment: After Jones (SAC) tips the ball, Mykhailiuk (BOS) proceeds and makes unauthorised contact with his face.
Jones would have been eligible for free throws with an opportunity to win or tie the game if the call had been made correctly.
After the game, Kings coach Mike Brown talked to reporters about how frustrated he was with the non-call.
Brown stated, “With 1.7 [seconds] remaining, Colby gets smacked right in the face. Fox got a great look, and Keegan had a good look on the follow-up.” “And while you’re screaming, ‘Foul, foul,’ they claim that nobody was struck—it was simply pure, physical basketball. And seeing a guy being struck across the face like that makes it difficult to take that in. That is difficult.
“I’m not sure. Perhaps we weren’t worthy winners. I’m not certain. We really did want to win. All you have to do is call the game what it is. How on earth could you miss that one? However, we must move on and prepare for Brooklyn.
Even though free throws are not a given, particularly for the Kings, who are shooting an NBA-worst 74.2 percent from the field this season, Sacramento and its supporters find it difficult to foresee a different result if the foul had been called.
