Refs speak on final play in Nuggets-Wolves 2OT thriller
Apr 2, 2025, 8:51 AM
The Denver Nuggets and the Minnesota Timberwolves played the game of the year on Tuesday night, but Nikola Jokic’s historic triple double was outshined by the questionable decision making of Russell Westbrook down the stretch. With 0.1 seconds left, Westbrook launched himself at Nickeil Alexander-Walker while he was shooting a 3-pointer, fouling him and essentially costing the Nuggets the game.
AN INSTANT CLASSIC DESERVES A WILD FINISH 🚨
Timberwolves get the rebound, push it down court, and draw the foul on the 3PA!
Nickeil Alexander-Walker drills two CLUTCH free throws to secure the win for the Timberwolves 🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/CSkEnU1rj9
— NBA (@NBA) April 2, 2025
Was it a foul on Westbrook? Other angles show that the contact took place well after the shot left Alexander-Walker’s hands, but Westbrook still hit his shooting arm. Crew Chief Sean Wright spoke about the play and the review that followed after Tuesday’s game.
“Once we go to the monitor the play is reviewed and we see what time the illegal contact actually happened, the illegal contact occurred at 0.1, therefore .1 is then put on the clock and you shoot the three free throws and play with that time,” Wright said.
The official NBA rulebook (Rule 12, Article B, Section 1.a) says: “A player shall not hold, push, charge into, impede the progress of an opponent by extending a hand, arm, leg or knee or by bending the body into a position that is not normal. Contact that results in the re-routing of an opponent is a foul which must be called immediately.”
It’s clear that Westbrook extended his arm/hand towards Alexander-Walker and re-routed him (the contact caused him to fall to the ground) on the shot attempt. While the contact wan’t egregious, it was enough for the official to blow the whistle and make the call.
The problem with this is that the play should never have gotten to this point. Westbrook should’ve made the preceding layup (or dribbled the ball out shot free throws) so the Nuggets would’ve been able to get back and set their defense. However, after missing the layup, he just stood under the basket for a couple of seconds while Minnesota pushed the ball up the floor. Then, he had to race back up, was out of position, and ended up launching himself at the shooter because of the decisions he made leading up to that.
The league has not released the Last Two Minute Report from Tuesday’s game, where fans will officially get the news on whether or not it was a foul. There’s no going back, and the foul was called, resulting in a gut-wrenching Nuggets loss.
