By Jason Lloyd
Beacon Journal sports writer
AUBURN HILLS, MICH.: Richard Jefferson should’ve been called for a foul on the game’s final play Sunday and LeBron James should’ve been whistled for a technical for hanging on the rim, the league’s officiating report indicated Monday.
The league reviews all calls and non-calls in the last two minutes of close games. Jefferson’s foot-to-foot contact with Kevin Durant on the last play of the Cavs’ 109-108 win over the Golden State Warriors warranted a foul, according to the league. Jefferson said after the game the call could’ve gone either way. When told the league ruled it was a foul, Jefferson chose instead to follow other players who have been critical of the controversial “Last 2 Minutes” initiative.
“There’s a lot of things I could say. I’m on the positive end of it this time, so there’s no need to make a comment about it,” Jefferson said. “I think if you ask guys across the board if the replay and the Last 2 Minutes is effective, I don’t think it is. In the sense I think it puts the referees in a really bad spot. You’re critiquing them, you’re criticizing them for what they see in real time vs. a slow-motion action. It’s kind of like the generals who oversee the war, but aren’t in the war. I don’t think it’s good for basketball.”
Stars such as James and Dwyane Wade have been equally critical of the league’s L2M in the past. James took aim at it last season during the playoffs.
The NBA referees union formally called on the league to stop releasing the reports last season during the Finals, but Commissioner Adam Silver has remained a firm supporter of the transparency they provide.
“It changes absolutely nothing,” James said of the reports during last season’s playoffs. “I think it sends a bad message to our fans of thinking the game is only won in the last two minutes,” James said. “A play in the first quarter is just as important as a play in the last four seconds. That’s how playoff basketball is played, that’s how the game of basketball should be played.”
Jefferson believes the reports will only add scrutiny and bitterness to the rivalry and carry over into the next time the Cavs and Warriors meet next month at Oracle Arena.
“All it actually does is cause more dissension,” Jefferson said. “So the next day guys are (angry) and it trickles down to the next set of games. It’s not good for basketball.”
Coach Tyronn Lue called the contact between Jefferson and Durant incidental.
“There’s a lot of fouls throughout the course of the game that don’t get called,” Lue said. “It’s a tough game to officiate. That was an incidental play at the end of the game. You don’t want the game decided on two free throws at the end of the game. I didn’t see (the foul). There wasn’t much contact to me. But to me, you come back and say that you made a mistake in the last two minutes of the game, I mean, that’s on them.”
James’ dunk with 1:43 left gave the Cavs a 105-103 lead – their first since early in the first quarter. He was fouled on the play and the Warriors took a timeout while he was on the rim.
Those were the only two blown calls in the last two minutes, according to the league review.
Ratings gold
More than 10 million people tuned in to watch the Cavs and Warriors on Christmas Day (ABC plus streaming), making it the most-watched NBA broadcast in 12 years during the 2:30 p.m. window. The broadcast peaked with 11.8 million viewers during the second half, according to Nielsen. The Cavs-Warriors game ranked fifth on ABC’s all-time list of most-watched games.
Dribbles
The game against the Pistons marked Tristan Thompson’s 400th consecutive game played, the first player in team history to reach that figure. He’s also the league’s current leader. … Rookie Kay Felder, a Detroit native, drove himself here after the Warriors game on Sunday so he could see his family. He beat the team plane because Lue sent the players home for a few hours before flying late. … This is the Pistons’ last season in Auburn Hills. They move to downtown Detroit next season. The Cavs’ final visit here (barring a postseason series) will be in March.
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Cavs blog at www.ohio.com/cavs. Follow him on Twitter www.twitter.com/JasonLloydABJ.