NBA: Referees missed several calls at the end of Celtic Bucks-Boston Celwaukee

TORONTO – The final seconds of Milwaukee Bucks' win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night were filled with drama, intrigue and, ultimately, several incorrect calls.

The report of the last two minutes of the NBA for the Bucks win 98-97 listed three incorrect calls in the last game, as well as an incorrect decision regarding Brook Lopez's attempt at deception at 3.7 seconds from the end.

Lopez's spike took place after a jumped ball, caused when Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was tied up by Celtics goalkeeper Marcus Smart with 0.2 left on the clock. Antetokounmpo won the next prognosis and hit the ball towards Lopez, the 7-footer being positioned close to the edge.

Lopez managed to tip the ball to the edge, which seemed to allow the last seconds to escape to seal the victory of Milwaukee. However, officials at the time decided that Lopez had attempted to shoot the ball rather than overthrow him – and as there was only 0.2 on the clock (instead of 0.3, which is the time required to get a shot), he considered a violation of the clock.

Team leader Mike Callahan confirmed that it was the parquet floor's decision with a pool reporter after Thursday's match. The report on the last two minutes, however, indicated that it should in fact have been considered a tip and that Lopez's shot should have been counted.

The ensuing possession for the Celtics, however, was filled with even more problems. Three calls have been missed: an illegal film by Kyrie Irving on Khris Middleton; a subsequent take by Middleton on Marcus Morris to prevent him from using Irving's screen to catch a wide open lob at the edge; and Eric Bledsoe's foul on Irving before missing what would have been a winning shot.

However, Irving's shot was not framed and Milwaukee won the match.