Taking into consideration that each NBA team plays at least 82 games in a season, there are bound to be bad calls made from time to time. Some of these wrong calls do not have much effect when it comes to the outcome of the game, but some could decide who comes out on top of a game entirely. Such was the case in the final play of the Atlanta Hawks recent loss to the Sacramento Kings.
The Hawks' Tim Hardaway Jr. made a drive to the basket in the dying moments of the game, only to see his efforts snuffed by the defending Matt Barnes. The referee did not see it as a foul, though the entirety of the Hawks bench and coaching staff deemed it as such. If the foul on Hardaway were counted, it would have given him the chance to make potential game-winning free throws for his side.
As with every game in the league, the NBA issues a "last two minutes" report, which documents the league's assessment of what happened during the closing two minutes of the games played. The report for the Hawks versus Kings game revealed that the officials were right in not calling the foul on Hardaway, due to the fact that Barnes only made "incidental" contact, according to the official document, as cited by AJC.com.
The Hawks may feel even more hard done by the fact that the league's official report also stated that Kings' DeMarcus Cousins should have been given his marching orders after receiving a sixth foul less than a minute and a half before the end of the game. On the other hand, the Kings must be in an elated mood after winning four of their last five games, which outs them just outside of the playoff picture in the Western conference. Their wins came against the Golden State Warriors, the Boston Celtics, the Hawks, and the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Kings are playing well even without experienced point guard Ty Lawson. He is currently nursing a leg injury and was also out in the Kings' latest game against the Pelicans, though his status has been upgraded to "questionable" prior to their most recent home win, according to CBS Sports.
Watch the highlights of the Hawks game against the Kings in the video below: