The NBA’s nba.com/l2m/L2MReport.html?gameId=0042500402″>latest Last 2 Minute (L2M) Report is generating fresh debate after Friday night’s Knicks-Spurs NBA Finals matchup, with the league’s review of several late-game officiating decisions raising new questions among fans and analysts.
The report examined every whistle and non-call during the final two minutes of the Knicks‘ narrow victory, offering new insight into a game that was already controversial.
The bottom line, per SNY NBA insider Ian Begley, was that according to the L2M Report, referees in Game 2 made zero errors in the final two minutes. Every call was correct. Every non-call was correct — including the disputed kicked-ball play by San Antonio Spurs backup center Luke Kornet.
“Although Kornet (SAS) lifts his foot, he does not intentionally kick the loose ball,” the NBA said in the report, as posted by Begley on X.
Knicks, Spurs Fans Both Claim Ref Bias
That finding landed in the middle of one of the louder officiating debates of the postseason. Spurs fans pointed to De’Aaron Fox drawing an and-one on what cameras showed was a double dribble, and to Wembanyama being handed eight free throw attempts, most of any player on the floor, for the second straight Finals game, according to an account by Sports Illustrated‘s Isaiah De Los Santos.
Knicks fans had their own list. San Antonio shot 27 free throws to New York’s 21. New York didn’t get to the line once in the second half until the 2:37 mark of the fourth quarter. The Spurs attempted nine over that same stretch, De Los Santos noted. Karl-Anthony Towns collected four fouls, including a late offensive call that replays showed Stephon Castle initiating.
“No one is going to talk about how the refs are clearly cheating,” one fan posted on social media. “The @NBA is definitely rigged.”
A second wrote that officiating was going “one way towards San Antonio. The Knicks are getting pummeled and no call,” as quoted by a Yahoo Sports report.
Spurs guard Stephon Castle voiced similar concerns during the prior round against Oklahoma City.
“I just think the way they guard, how physical they are, we don’t get that same luxury to be able to play as physical on the other end at times,” Castle said, as quoted by The Spun.
Luke Kornet No-Call Judged Correct by NBA
The Kornet play arrived near the final seconds with possession on the line. The ABC broadcast called it a kicked-ball violation that would have handed the ball to New York. The officials let it go. The NBA’s L2M Report ruled the contact unintentional and backed them up, as Begley reported.
Wembanyama then threw a pass off Castle’s back with 9.5 seconds left, Jalen Brunson scooped it up, and Brunson drew the game-deciding free throw after Wembanyama fouled him on the sideline. The final score was New York 105, San Antonio 104.
Wembanyama finished with 29 points, nine rebounds, four blocks, and two steals, but four turnovers — including the one that ended it — defined the defeat. Brunson scored 20 points on 7-of-25 shooting. Towns put up 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
New York leads 2-0 heading into Game 3 on Monday at Madison Square Garden — just the third Finals team in NBA history to win the first two road games, joining the 1993 Chicago Bulls and 1995 Houston Rockets. Both won the championship.
NBA Last 2 Minute Report Raises Questions After Knicks-Spurs