The Rockets were thankful for James Harden and the referees should be, too.
Harden’s miraculous last-second 3-pointer gave the Rockets a thrilling 135-134 overtime victory, but not before a stunningly awful call almost handed the Warriors the game. Kevin Durant tried saving a ball from going out of bounds on the Warriors’ second-to-last possession, but was closer to the front row than the court when he threw the ball back into play.
The ball would find its way to Stephen Curry, who nailed a jumper with 23.1 seconds left to put Golden State up 134-132 before Harden’s heroics. Durant admitted after the game that he knew he was out of bounds.
“I could believe it because the refs were missing a lot tonight,” said Durant, who would miss a desperation shot at the buzzer.
Or in the words of TNT play-by-play man Kevin Harlan: “How in the world do you miss that?”
