With the National Basketball Association's first half of the year coming into an end, the Christmas Day game between Larry O'Brien trophy rivals Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors has been most-talked about game this season. The Cavaliers took a 109-108 win against but the victory came with controversy as the league admitted crucial missed calls.
The NBA announced a day after the controversial game that the officials missed two calls in the waning moments of the game. The Warriors squander a 14-point fourth quarter advantage leading to a Kyrie Irving turnaround go-ahead shot, the league's official website reported.
The world's premier basketball league said that Cleveland star LeBron James should have been called for a technical foul for purposefully hanging on the rim after dunking at the 1:43 mark in the last frame. Also, veteran Cavalier Richard Jefferson should have been called for a foul after tripping Golden State's Kevin Durant in the final play. Durant, who was aiming for the game-winner, was tripped by Jefferson as he fell down with the time expiring.
Durant told reporters in the post-game presser that he did not fall down on his own and said that since it was the Cavaliers home court, the officials were not going to call a foul on a Cavalier player. Jefferson, meanwhile, doubts the effectiveness of NBA Last 2 Minute review and told the Akron Beacon Journal that it is not good for the league and basketball in general.
To say the least, the Warriors and the Cavaliers might blossom into the next great rivalry with critics touting both teams to play in the finals again. In 2015, Golden State spoiled 'King James' return in Cleveland after winning the championship. The year after, the Cavaliers stormed back from a 1-3 deficit to give the franchise their first NBA championship in their 46-year history.
Watch the video below to see how their Christmas day game transpired: