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Last Two Minute report lists 6 incorrectly officiated incidents from Jazz's loss to Sixers
By Sarah Toddstodd@deseretnews.com
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Utah Jazz's Rudy Gobert plays during an NBA basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Wednesday, March 3, 2021, in Philadelphia.
Matt Slocum, Associated Press
The NBA's Last Two Minute report (L2M) from Wednesday's games came out on Thursday afternoon, and even though the report did indicate there were some incorrect calls and non-calls made during the Utah Jazz's 131-123 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, it probably does very little to pacify the feelings of Jazz All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert.
Following the loss, Mitchell and Gobert lashed out about the officiating in the game and called out league officials for what they felt has been inconsistent officiating for the Jazz compared to other teams.
"This has been a consistent thing," Mitchell said. "The question is can we do it? Can we sustain it? Are we for real No. 1? Like, yeah, the hell we are, and it's getting (expletive) ridiculous that this is what's happened. ... I'm sick of it. To be honest, we all are. This is something that just, it pains me, it eats at me ... and the league needs to do something about this."
Mitchell and Gobert made their comments knowing full well that the league would be handing out fines for their comments.
"We shouldn't have to say it, but we have to say it," Gobert said. "If we don't say it now, it might be too late. We just want a little more respect. That's it. ... All our guys, they just deserve to be treated the same way the other players on the other teams are treated regardless of which team it is, which market it is. For the beauty of the game, I think it is the minimum that we can ask."
The L2M report for the game between the Jazz and Sixers details 50 separate incidents from the last two minutes of the fourth quarter and the overtime period.
The report lists four instances in the fourth quarter that the officials got wrong and two instances in the overtime period. The first incorrect item was a foul committed by Gobert against Joel Embiid that was not called.
The next two plays that are listed as incorrect are both from the same play that begins with 1:03 on the clock during and inbound play. Conley inbounds to Bojan Bogdanovic, whom the league says traveled once he had the ball. That was not called. Then when Bogdanovic goes to pass the ball, the league says that Ben Simmons extends his "leg out to make contact with the ball on the pass by Bogdanovic, which causes it to go into the backcourt." Again, no call.
The final incorrectly officiated incident of the fourth quarter that is listed on the L2M report is a non-call of a foul committed by Embiid against Mitchell. This will probably be the one admission by the league that makes the Jazz feel a little justified in their anger since, if called correctly, it would have sent Mitchell to the free-throw line where he could have extended the Jazz's lead to five with just under 40 seconds to play.
The L2M report for the overtime period is not going to make the Jazz or Jazz fans any happier.
There are just two incidents listed as incorrect and they both come in the same play. One is a traveling violation by Tobias Harris that was not called, and the second is a defensive 3-second violation by Gobert that was not called.
The officials reviewed the shooting foul against Gobert on Embiid from this clip and deemed it the correct call.
This all came during the same play that saw Mitchell receive his first technical foul for complaining to the officials. His second technical foul and ejection came less than a minute later.
That's it as far as the league is concerned when it comes to what mistakes were made on Wednesday night. There are plenty of incidents where the league said officials made the right call that the Jazz are sure to still disagree with, though.
Like this play, in which Mitchell was called for an offensive foul. Despite the fact that Mitchell is hung up on Simmons arm during the play, the L2M report read, "Mitchell wraps his arm around Simmons' leg during the drive and the contact restricts his movement."
Of course, as its name implies, the report does not list any of the plays from outside the final two minutes that were missed or called incorrectly.
And, as always, the report does nothing but stoke fuel for anger and resentment, as it does not impact game results. In the end, the Jazz lost this game and the report doesn't change that.
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