The Toronto Raptors came out flat against the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday. That should be inexcusable coming off of an embarrassing loss to the Indiana Pacers and in a building where the Raptors always struggle, but it was the case. Maybe the absence of Nicolas Batum (tummy ache), Al Jefferson (smoking the reefer), and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (the universe hates him), combined with the Miami Heat looming Friday, made for a trap-game scenario.
In any case, the Raptors got down by eight in the game’s first four minutes and the deficit would swell to 16 at one point. It stood at 12 entering the fourth quarter, but this Raptors team never says die easily, and they continued to chip away throughout the final (regulation) frame.
With 25 seconds to play, DeMar DeRozan hit a 13-footer to tie the game 90-90.
The Raptors played the ensuing defensive possession well. Tied at home, the Hornets wanted to hold for as long as possible to get the final shot. The Raptors responded by doubling early, forcing the Hornets into action they didn’t want to engage in – Charlotte would have preferred to dribble until the games final seconds (even at the cost of a more fluid action, because with a tie, the timing is more important than the quality of the look), but the double required quicker movement, and it flustered Charlotte.
When the ball ultimately swung into a guard-guard pick-and-roll, the Raptors swarmed, with Kyle Lowry and Cory Joseph converging on Kemba Walker to poke the ball free. DeMar DeRozan corralled the loose ball, and it appeared the Raptors were in a great position to steal a win.
Then things got really weird.
Lowry was screaming for a timeout, one the Raptors had, from the get-go. He swore after the game that there were 3.2 seconds remaining on the clock when he called timeout, something he believes he did immediately upon DeRozan scooping up the ball. I froze the video, and with 3.5 on the clock, DeRozan has possession and Lowry is calling for time.
The officials didn’t grant time. Instead, while Lowry continued to yell for a timeout, DeRozan dribbled to mid-court and let fly with a successful buzzer-beater. It appeared that instead of a timeout and the chance to set up for a high-quality look – there’s little argument that a half-court heave was a better option, even with the disoriented defense, and there wasn’t enough time to push further – the Raptors had won the game on a 30-footer.
Except that the officials had granted timeout, only they’d done so way too late. Playing it back several times, it’s hard to tell whether the whistle beats the shot or the shot beats the whistle.
Best I can tell with start-stopping and the normal human error, this is when the whistle blew:
So that’s frustrating. But at least the Raptors will get the ball with three seconds on the clock, right? Wrong. The referees review the play and instead only reward the Raptors with 0.7 seconds, an inexplicable amount of time given what the replay shows.
There’s not much you can run with 0.7 seconds left. You can heave a three from up top or work for a baseline catch-and-shoot. The Raptors did the latter, and the ice-cold Lowry misfired.
The game went to overtime and the Raptors ran out of gas, eventually conceding yet another loss in Charlotte. So, to review:
- The Raptors came out flat (again).
- They refused to say die (again).
- They came back late (again).
- They tied the game with 25 seconds left.
- They played excellent defense on Charlotte’s final regulation possession, forcing a turnover.
- They had the ball and called for timeout with 3.5 seconds left. It wasn’t granted.
- They hit a half-court shot that was released with roughly 0.7 seconds left. It didn’t count.
- They weren’t granted extra time despite a review of the clock.
- They missed a low-percentage heave at the buzzer.
- They ran out of gas in overtime.
- They lost.
- They play in Miami tomorrow.
Oy.
For what it’s worth, I’m not sure if time reviews get included in the NBA’s official last two minute report, but I’ll keep an eye out for it tomorrow afternoon.
