The NBA admitted to refs missing a crucial call that would have gone in the Kings' favor in the final minute of Sacramento's 107-13 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday at Golden 1 Center.
With 53 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and the score tied at 103, Harrison Barnes had his arm contacted by Mavericks forward Daniel Gafford, but no whistle was blown.
In the NBA's Last Two Minute Report released on Saturday, the league admitted Gafford's contact on Barnes should have warranted a foul call.
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"Gafford (DAL) reaches in and initiates contact with Barnes' (SAC) arm, causing Barnes to lose his balance," the Last Two Minute Report states.
It ended up being a crucial oversight at a critical juncture in a tight game where margins already were razor-thin for both teams.
Dallas maintained a significant free-throw advantage over Sacramento in Friday's game, going to the line 33 times while the Kings only had 12 attempts of their own from the charity stripe.
Following the game, coach Mike Brown voiced his displeasure with the officiating, citing the substantial free-throw differential in what was otherwise an extremely tight contest between two teams jockeying for positioning in the Western Conference playoff picture.
NBA
"To lose the free-throw battle 33-12, I just don't understand it," Brown told reporters after the game. "They get calls that are touch fouls, and I asked the officials about it, and the officials say, "Yeah, they're touch fouls, and maybe I wouldn't have called that.' But then we can't get the same call. As a coach when your team is fighting all you want is consistency, and 33-12 in a tight ballgame, that's not consistency. So it makes it tough."
Friday's loss was Sacramento's second defeat to Dallas this week, placing the Kings (42-31) two full games behind the Mavericks (44-29) for the No. 6 seed in the West.
With Sacramento fighting to avoid the play-in tournament, a mistake like the missed foul on Barnes might have significant consequences on their final standing when the regular season concludes.