The Cavaliers’ 127-125 overtime escape against the Timberwolves on Monday night came with a little extra help from the officiating crew, according to the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report.
Cleveland erased a 15-point first-half hole to outlast Minnesota in an overtime thriller, but the league later identified two missed calls in the game’s closing moments that worked in the Cavs’ favor.
The first came in the final seconds of regulation, when Anthony Edwards drove to the basket and came away without free throws. The NBA said a shooting foul should have been called before Peyton Watson’s block, with the report stating, “ [James] Harden initiates contact with Edwards’ arm, which affects his driving shot attempt.”
The foul was not obvious from one angle, though Harden did help from the corner and appeared to reach in. Edwards’ reaction also suggested he believed there was contact, as he threw his palms up after no whistle came. Had that call been made, Cleveland likely would have needed a basket in the final 4.2 seconds just to force a tie or win.
The other missed call came on a late tie-up involving Donovan Mitchell and LaMelo Ball. The report says Ball should not have been assessed a foul, explaining: “ Mitchell dribbles the ball off Ball’s (MIN) foot, which causes Mitchell to lose control of the ball. The ensuing contact that occurs after the ball is deflected is deemed incidental.”
That one looked cleaner on replay. Mitchell appeared to lose the ball after dribbling into Ball’s foot, and the contact that followed came after the turnover was already in motion. The whistle should not have gone off, and the final sequence may have unfolded differently if play had been allowed to continue.
Cleveland still earned the win, but the last two minutes of the night tilted its way in a couple of key spots.
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The Cavaliers overtime win over the Timberwolves is already the kind of result that gets replayed, but the NBAs Last Two Minute Report added another layer to the discussion. The league identified two officiating mistakes that worked in Clevelands favor, while also backing several other calls from the final stretch, including the non-flagrant ruling on Donovan Mitchell and a foul on Jaden McDaniels.
What stood out most was how thin the margins were late, when every whistle can reshape a games finish. The report said a key call should have gone the other way on the final possession of regulation, and it also marked an overtime foul involving Mitchell and LaMelo Ball as incorrect because the contact was deemed incidental, leaving plenty for fans to debate even after the result is in the books. [Read more 🡒]