There was a lot of officiating controversy in Game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals as the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat and forced a Game 7.
The NBA has confirmed two officiating errors during Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat.
In Miami on Saturday evening, the Celtics got the victory they needed to forcing a Game 7 at the buzzer when Derrick White tipped in a missed three-point attempt from teammate Marcus Smart to seal a 104-103 victory. Nothing was deemed embarrassing during this sequence, but the previous piece was particularly controversial.
At the other end of the field, Al Horford dirtied the Heat It is Jimmy Butler was fouled on a field goal attempt. Immediately afterward, Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla used a coach’s challenge to challenge the call by taking a timeout.
This decision was ultimately deemed unsuccessful and the fault was not overturned. However, the review meant the replay center manager could also assess other incidents.
They determined Butler was behind the three-point line when the foul occurred. This meant that three free throws would follow instead of the originally stated two, giving Miami a chance to take the lead rather than settle for a tie.
Then, the official added 0.9 seconds to the game clock after ruling that the foul occurred with 3.0 seconds remaining instead of the 2.1 seconds remaining at the initial whistle. Both of those decisions were deemed correct by the league, as was the failure to call a potential double dribble by Butler before the shot.
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According to The NBA’s latest two-minute report of the game, the only plays for which there is clear and conclusive video proof that they were incorrect benefited the Heat.
The first was a lane violation by Caleb Martin. Martin boxed White, preventing him from being able to contest a rebound after Jaylen Brown missed a free throw attempt. Instead, Butler rebounded the ball with just over a minute on the clock as the Heat regained possession.
The other incorrect call was a non-call to Gabe Vincent making contact with Jayson Tatum as the Celtics wing drove toward the basket. The league says the impact affected the attempt.
Tatum missed the shot with 33.5 seconds on the clock, but should have made two free throws that could have extended Boston’s lead to three. He went a perfect 15-for-15 from the free throw line that night.
Regardless, Boston ultimately prevailed to win a third straight game and set up a winner-takes-all matchup on Monday night. After recovering from a 3-0 series deficit, Celtics become fourth team to advance to Game 7.
The other three teams that managed to do so lost the deciding game, but none of those trios had home-court advantage. The Celtics do and can do NBA history by succeeding where 151 others before them failed before.
