A pivotal officiating error in the final moments cost the Blazers a win. The league confirms a foul call shifted momentum and dictated overtime's outcome.
The Portland Trail Blazers left Monday night feeling like they let what was a competitive and rather winnable game with seeding implications on the line slip away.
A day later, the NBA confirmed on the Last Two Minute Report there may have been more to it than just execution down the stretch.
Portland fell 137-132 to the Denver Nuggets in overtime, but the game was tied at 125-125 at the end of regulation. Now, the league’s report has spotlighted a key mistake that went against the Blazers in the closing moments of the fourth quarter, and one that may have shifted the outcome.
With 1:50 remaining in regulation, officials called a defensive foul on Portland center Robert Williams III as he battled Nikola Jokić on a drive. The whistle resulted in two free throws for Jokić at a key point.
However, the league’s review determined the call was incorrect.
According to the report, Jokić actually initiated the contact by grabbing and hooking Williams’ arm, limiting his ability to defend the play. By rule, that action should have been called an offensive foul on Jokić. Instead, the possession went Denver’s way, and Jokić capitalized at the line.
He knocked down both free throws, shrinking what had been a three-point Portland lead to just one. In a game that had already been tightly contested, that swing proved meaningful.
Rather than playing from a position of control in the final moments, the Blazers suddenly found themselves in a much more vulnerable spot.
Denver took advantage of that opening. The Nuggets managed to extend the game, eventually forcing overtime where they seized momentum and closed it out.
While Portland still had chances to secure the win late in regulation, the missed call now stands out as a turning point in a game defined by thin margins.
The league noted that all other calls and non-calls in the final two minutes of regulation and throughout overtime were deemed correct. Still, that lone mistake carries weight given the timing and impact.
For a young Portland team trying to build consistency, it’s a frustrating development. Close games often come down to a handful of possessions, and this one was no exception.
While the Blazers will focus on their own late-game execution, the acknowledgment of an officiating error adds another layer to a tough loss, one that, at least in part, may have been out of their control.