VIDEO: NBA Refs Completely Screw Rockets by Not Counting James Harden's Dunk After Bizarre Sequence
By Thomas Carannante
It's about to be 2020. We have all the technology in the world to solve the simplest of problems, but the NBA seemingly can't put that into action. Take Tuesday night's Houston Rockets-San Antonio Spurs game, for instance. James Harden slammed home a breakaway dunk, but the manner in which it went through the net actually made it look like a miss. The refs called it as such, didn't award the Rockets with a bucket, caused an entire stir, and Houston lost the game by two in double overtime.
This is the craziest "missed" dunk I've ever seen. Crazy, because James Harden didn't miss it. Refs missed the call. Rockets lost in OT. ?pic.twitter.com/uNkD5ez32Z
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) December 4, 2019
What.
The refs' explanation? The 30-second window to review the play passed because the Rockets were "protesting the call."
Referee James Capers admits they missed the call on James Harden’s dunk, but the Rockets couldn’t challenge because they allowed 30-second window to pass while “protesting the call, trying to get clarification of it.” pic.twitter.com/RuqUzUgMlK
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) December 4, 2019
After that, Lonnie Walker went off for the Spurs, scoring 19 in the fourth to force overtime. San Antonio took the game 135-133 in the second OT.
Lonnie Walker IV dropped 19 PTS in the 4Q to force OT ? pic.twitter.com/VQA2ny501n
— Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) December 4, 2019
Between the NFL being unable to figure out pass interference review and the MLB using a microscope to determine if a player's pinkie came off the bag on a bang-bang tag play, we now have this to add to the dismal state of replay in sports.