Fan Duel Toronto Raptors

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Referees admit error on Carmelo Anthony out of bounds no-call

Arrgghhhhh Ed Malloy.

The Toronto Raptors were on the wrong side of fortune Tuesday.

With 22 seconds to play and the New York Knicks leading 106-105, a sideline out of bounds play resulted in Kyle Lowry being switched on to Carmelo Anthony. To avoid the mismatch, Lowry quickly used the team’s remaining foul to give, setting up another sideline out of bounds play.

On the resultant play, the Raptors were able to trap Carmelo Anthony with a triple-team upon his receiving the inbound pass. Anthony was dead, attempted to pivot several times, and in the process of freeing himself appeared to not only travel but also step out of bounds. Raptors head coach Dwane Casey was quite fired up pointing it out to the officials, but no call was made, and the ball slipped out to Lance Thomas. The Raptors fouled Thomas, and he knocked down both ensuring free throws.

Here’s the play in question.

“It’s a fast game,” a diplomatic Casey said afterward. “Its a tough game, he was right there in front of me, we weren’t trying to foul. We were trying to trap. Video showed that he stepped out of bounds, I don’t know…It’s a tough game to officiate. I wouldn’t say anything if he wasn’t right there in front of me. I thought he was out of bounds, I guess Tony (Brown) felt like it was different.”

The Raptors would go on to lose 111-109, with that particular play standing as one of a handful that could have swung the game in the home team’s favor. After the game, Pool Reporter Eric Koreen of the National Post spoke to lead official Ed Malloy, who said he did not see a travel or an out of bounds in real-time.

“Have you reviewed the play since then on video and what did you see?” Asked Pool Reporter Eric Koreen.

“When we came in we reviewed the play. We did see Anthony step out of bounds and should’ve awarded the ball to Toronto,” Malloy admitted.

That’s of little consolation to the Raptors, of course, who still have a loss on their record and don’t get those 17 or so seconds back. The call is not reviewable on the floor, and the D-League’s experiment with a coach’s challenge is still being tweaked ahead of its second year.

It’s perhaps a little nice to know any outrage is justified, but the loss is a loss, regardless of what Malloy says.