The Philadelphia 76ers won in overtime against the Houston Rockets on Thursday night, but according to one of the officials for the game, the Sixers should have won the game in regulation.
In the final seconds of the fourth quarter, Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey went up for a layup, which, after hitting off the backboard, was blocked by Houston’s Kevin Durant. Originally, no goaltending call was made, the game went to overtime, but Philadelphia ended up winning by six points.
However, speaking to reporters after the game, NBA referee John Goble admitted the shot should have been called for goaltending, which would have given the Sixers a late lead and potentially the win in regulation.
“By rule, a goaltending would have to be called on the floor for that play to be reviewed,” Goble said, according to the Pool Report released from the NBA. “In real time the officiating crew felt it was a good blocked shot.”
Immediately after the game, Philadelphia fans took to the internet to express their frustration with the no-call. Sixers players also had strong reactions to Maxey’s shot not being called a goal tend by the game’s officials.
Maxey’s Shot Should Have Been Called For Goaltending
Despite the initial pleas for a review by the Sixers players, coaching staff, and fans, no goaltending call was made in the moment, and as Goble said, the fact that there was no call meant that the officials were not able to stop play and initiate a replay review.
Yet still, speaking after the game, the lead official admitted that it was the wrong call, even though nothing could be changed after the final overtime buzzer.
“Look, they are supposed to call those,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said after the game. “If it is even close, they are supposed to call those and then go and review and get the play right. They should have called it in order to get the play right.”
Goble responded with a simple ‘correct‘ to a question about, despite an inadvertent whistle near the end of regulation, the referees were unable to look at the play and decide if there was goaltending or not, even though there was a stoppage in play.
He also said the inadvertent whistle was initially because Rockets’ head coach Ime Udoka attempted to call a timeout, but was not given one due to the fact that Houston did not have possession of the ball in the moment.
Instead, the game went to overtime, in which the Sixers finished the five minutes with a 128-122 win, in what was still a bad beat for Philadelphia. Despite the no-call, Maxey finished with 36 points and ten rebounds, Joel Embiid had perhaps his best stat line of the year with 32 points, 15 rebounds, and ten assists, while Kelly Oubre ended the contest with 26 points on 10/14 shooting.
For Houston, Durant had 36 points in a season-high 44 minutes, but his no-call goal-tend led headlines after the controversial game.
“Obviously, that’s tough,” Embiid said. “Thankfully, we won.”
Maxey An All-Star Starter, Embiid Playing Better By The Day
Despite all the controversy surrounding the Sixers’ latest game, that shouldn’t overshadow the individual performances by both Maxey and Embiid.
For the former, he’s been playing the best basketball of his career, putting up a league-third 30.1 points per game, along with 4.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists on 47.1% shooting. For the first time in his career, Maxey was named an All-Star starter in the Eastern Conference.
With Embiid previously in and out of the lineup, Maxey has taken perhaps the biggest scoring responsibility for a team outside of Luka Doncic with the Los Angeles Lakers, and his performances this season have proven he isn’t just one of the rising stars in the NBA, but a bona fide star, ready to carry his team to the playoffs.
Despite some injuries to start the year, Embiid has also been playing some of the best basketball of the past few seasons. His triple-double on Thursday was his first in nearly a year and the ninth of his career. Since the start of December, Embiid has been averaging more than 26 points, eight rebounds, and 3.5 assists a night after many thought his career was soon to be over following a string of knee injuries and subsequent complications.
The Sixers are Maxey’s team now, but with how well Embiid has been playing recently, the two finally look like the duo that was promised to the city of Philadelphia. The team is currently 24-19, and though on a recent skid, is in line to make the playoffs and exceed preseason expectations for what was a mix-and-match roster of injured veterans and young players.
NBA Ref Admits Wrong Goaltending Call On Tyrese Maxey’s Game-Winner