NBA admits referees' mistakes at end of Game 2

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Tuesday, June 9, 2015

The grades are in, and the NBA admits that the referees didn't get it right on a few key plays at the end of Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

According to the NBA, referees Zach Zarba, Scott Foster and Tony Brothers missed some calls during the last two minutes of the Cleveland Cavaliers' 95-93 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. The best-of-seven series is tied at a game apiece.

"I saw it. I'm not going to talk about that, obviously," Cavaliers coach David Blatt said Tuesday. "The NBA is doing their work and their homework, and very qualified people are in charge of handling those issues. I'm going to let them handle it."

With 1:37 remaining in overtime, the NBA said the Warriors' Andre Iguodala wasn't called for making contact with LeBron James' arm on a shot attempt as the 24-second shot clock expired. However, the league also admitted Monday that James had moved his pivot foot before the shot attempt and should have been called for traveling before the contact was made.

Another missed call came with 45 seconds remaining in the game, as the NBA said that the Warriors' Draymond Green should have been called for grabbing James' shoulder and impeding James' ability to jump during the jump ball situation.

"I know what happened throughout the course of the game, so nothing really goes through my mind [when hearing about the review]," James said Tuesday. "There's nothing they can do about it at that point. It is what it is, and you just move on from it.

"I'm happy that we was able to come through with the win. That's the only thing that matters."

That wasn't the only instance of the referees missing Green doing that, either. The NBA admitted Green also should have been called for making contact with Tristan Thompson's arm, thus affecting Thompson's ability to control the ball, during the opening tip of overtime.

Blatt also was unhappy with the Warriors' tactic of fouling Thompson at the end of Game 2.

"That's a tactic that's been used and is becoming more and more prevalent in the game. And hopefully this summer the whole idea will be readdressed and reconsidered," Blatt said. "But for now, the rules are as they are, and that's a tactic.

"We are always thinking of what's our best lineup on the court at any given time and considering the possibilities of what tactic can be employed. We'll deal with it as it comes."

Danny Crawford, Marc Davis and Derrick Stafford will be the referees for Game 3 on Tuesday night (ABC, 9 p.m. ET) as the series shifts to Cleveland.

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