Referee report on the Rockets vs. Clippers game: The only missed call disadvantaged the Clippers; Sengun’s hook shot should have been ruled an offensive foul.

On December 13th Beijing time, the NBA officially released the referee report for the last two minutes of yesterday’s Rockets vs. Clippers game. The report indicates there was only one missed call in the final two minutes: an offensive foul by Sengun on his hook shot that was not called, which hurt the Clippers. All other calls in the last two minutes, including two critical offensive fouls and Batum’s inbound violation, were correct.

The sole missed call in the final two minutes occurred with 1 minute and 43 seconds remaining. At that moment, Rockets’ Sengun extended his left arm onto the vertically raised arm of Clippers’ Zubac, initiating contact that affected Zubac’s defensive shot attempt. After Sengun scored, Zubac signaled a foul to the referees, but they did not respond.

The referee report stated this should have been an offensive foul, nullifying the basket. This missed call clearly disadvantaged the Clippers and benefited the Rockets.

Two other key moments in the game’s crucial phase involved offensive fouls called on Jabari Smith Jr. and Leonard. The referee report confirmed that both calls were correct.

With 14.1 seconds left, Smith Jr. grabbed a rebound and then turned, knocking down Dunn, resulting in an offensive foul. The referee report explained as follows—

The officiating crew initiated a replay review of Smith Jr.’s foul to determine whether his contact with Dunn constituted a flagrant foul.

The replay concluded that the contact was a legal basketball play. Smith Jr. did not show any deliberate force or follow-up action after the contact, so it did not meet the criteria for a flagrant foul.

It should be noted that during a referee-initiated flagrant foul review, neither the accuracy of the original foul call nor whether the foul was a regular foul are subject to review. After the flagrant foul review concluded, the Rockets challenged the original foul call itself but lost the challenge. The referees determined that when Smith Jr. turned with the ball and placed his arm on Dunn, Dunn was in a legal defensive position.

Additionally, the referees judged that Batum’s physical contact occurred after this foul call and was minor in nature.

Therefore, Smith Jr.’s foul was an offensive foul but not a flagrant foul, and the call was correct.

With 11.1 seconds remaining, Leonard was called for an offensive foul against Al Horford. The referee report states that after a coach’s challenge and replay review, the challenge was denied. The replay showed Leonard used his off-ball arm to push Horford, initiating contact that forced Horford out of a legal defensive stance. This was indeed an offensive foul.

At 8.7 seconds left, Batum stepped on the baseline while inbounding the ball, resulting in a turnover that was correctly called.

In the end, the Rockets narrowly defeated the Clippers 115-113.