Instant replay ruined the end of the Warriors-Cavaliers game

We’ve got to find a solution to this.

Teams never want the game to fall into the referee’s hands in the end, but when it does, they hope things are done thoroughly and correctly. At the end of the Warriors-Cavaliers game, they were, technically. But in the process, the problems with the NBA’s instant replay system were exposed, and the calls ruined the flow of what should’ve been an epic late-game sequence.

The Warriors won 99-92 in a close, grind-it-out game, but the final two minutes really came down to two missed calls by the referees that could have had LeBron James at the line for four free throws, but instead gave the Warriors the ball back twice in the waning moments of the game.

First, James turned the ball over here when Durant bumped him on a drive to the rim.

The play was reviewed and the Warriors got the ball, which makes sense because it was clear that the ball went off James. What instant replay could not account for, though, was that Durant came across James’ body with his arm and then bumped him with his shoulder. That, by definition, is a foul. But because replay cannot overturn fouls, the referees couldn’t rectify the blown call.

Then, with the Cavaliers down 3 with under 30 seconds left, James lost the ball again on a drive to the rim. Once again, the ball was clearly off James, but, upon further review, it was clear that Durant came across his arm on the play.

Both of these plays were reviewed and, despite clear contact, a foul couldn’t be retroactively called as part of the play. But, to be clear, both calls were made correctly.

Here’s the rule, word for word.

Referees can only initiate a review on a called out-of-bounds play (for example, not one where an out-of-bounds might have occurred) and only those involving doubt as to which player caused the ball to go out (not those, for example, where a player stepped on the line).

In addition to determining which player caused the ball to go out-of-bounds, referees also look to confirm whether:

The game clock expired before the ball went out-of-bounds or the amount of time to put on the clock,

A 24-second violation occurred before the ball went out-of-bounds

An 8-second backcourt violation occurred before the ball went out of bounds

This puts a microscope on the NBA’s biggest instant replay flaw

NBA replay officials are able to review things like out of bounds calls, goaltends, and even block/charge calls in the final two minutes of the game, but they can’t retroactively call fouls on plays where a foul was never called in the first place. It doesn’t make a lot of sense — especially when we can clearly see a foul taking place.

All in all, this game probably won’t mean much come June. But it’s a shame that we were robbed of a spectacular finish with stoppages of play that couldn’t actually solve the root problem.