The most impressive caretaker call of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals was made 1,300 miles from the FTX Arena.
And it had nothing to do with the cause, which was reviewed by the NBA’s Replay Center in Secaucus, NJ.
With 11:04 remaining in the third quarter of the Heat’s 100-96 season-ending loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday, Heat guard Max Strauss converted a shot that was shot as a 3-pointer by a three-man caretaker. Credited was at FTX Arena, pulling the heat to within 56-54.
So thought Strauss, the Heat, the Celtics, everyone in the area and ESPN’s national audience.
All the while, veteran NBA referee Courtney Kirkland was working at the league’s Replay Center, unsure whether Strauss would have stepped over the 3-point line.
So he began his review, as the game continued.
At the time, Kirkland’s uncertainty was limited to whether the shot should have counted as three or two points.
By rule, the replay center may not control such play if the question is whether a player was out of bounds in the motion of attempting such a shot. This is not an acceptable trigger for replay-center review.
However – and this proved to be a major caveat – once such a review is triggered by the question of whether the basket was worth two or three points, then the decision is also allowed to determine whether such a player has “violated the boundary line”.
In Kirkland’s estimation, based on all the replay angles available to the NBA, Strauss had stepped out of bounds, beyond even those on the ESPN broadcast. In such cases, the final decision rests with the replay centre, and is therefore out of the hands of the on-site team.
So, in the end, no points on the play.
However, after three game stoppages in the interim for a foul call, the ruling was not announced until 8:28 remained in the third period, increasing Boston’s lead to 13 points. Replay review was introduced during the first of those pauses.
“The fact that this happened, three to four, five minutes into game time, changes the context of how you’re playing,” Heat coach Eric Spoelstra said. “We were starting to gain some momentum. You feel like it’s a seven-, eight-point game and you look up and it’s a 13-point game, and in addition to going back to the league offices for There is no other explanation.
“You would think that if this happens, it should happen immediately and you can adjust accordingly.”
Had Strauss been unsuccessful in this attempt, a review of the replay would have been immediate, to determine if an appropriate amount of free throws were to be awarded.
Spoelstra said he would not be surprised if this episode turns into a “case study” of how the league handles such decisions going forward.
“It was very unusual for us to grind and then start to gain some momentum, and then it was like, ‘Oh, hey, by the way, take those three,’ without any explanation,” Spoelstra said. “It’s the human side of it. It’s not the complaining side of it.
“Who knows if that would have changed anything, anyway?”
butler’s big end
With his 18 points in Sunday’s second quarter, Heat forward Jimmy Butler wound up with 17 double-digit quarters from 17 matches later this season. , ,
Butler on Sunday became the first Heat player to go into all 48 minutes of regulation in a playoff game since Jamal Mashburn in Game 2 of the 2000 Eastern Conference semifinal against the New York Knicks. , ,
With his 18th career playoff double-double Sunday, Heat center Bam Adebayo replaced Chris Bosch in third place on the Heat all-time playoff list, behind only LeBron James’ 31 and Dwayne Wade’s 22. , ,
Falling in Games 2, 5 and 7 and this was the first time in their 34 seasons the Heat had dropped three consecutive home games in the same playoff series, and the Heat had dropped three consecutive home games in any post-season. The Heat won their first seven home games after this season before losing to the Celtics.
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