The ending of a crucial game between the Clippers and 76ers is now mired in controversy.
With Philadelphia hosting LA for a primetime game on March 27, things came down to the wire. After an and-one from Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, the 76ers trailed by one point with 15.7 seconds remaining and had multiple opportunities to win the game.
In the game's final moments, the 76ers couldn't overcome increasingly physical defense from the Clippers to regain the lead. With each missed opportunity came increased frustration from Philadelphia's side.
As the final buzzer sounded, frustration from the Sixers contingent boiled over as both head coach Nick Nurse and forward Kelly Oubre Jr. needed to be restrained from berating game officials. Making matters worse for the Sixers is that the officials promptly acknowledged their mistake postgame.
Here's how the controversial ending played out in Philadelphia.
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Clippers vs. 76ers ending, explained
Facing a one-point deficit with 15.7 seconds remaining, one call and two non-calls resulted in the Sixers' frustration.
First, All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey was fouled while attempting to drive to the hoop. The Clippers signaled a coach's challenge but the foul was upheld. Much to the dismay of the 76ers, however, the foul was deemed a non-shooting foul and no free throws were awarded because the team was not yet in the bonus.
On the next play, Oubre received an inbound pass and attempted to drive past Leonard, who blocked Oubre's layup attempt with 5.1 seconds remaining. There appeared to be some contact between the bodies of Oubre and Leonard but no foul was called.
Leonard's block resulted in the ball being wedged between the rim and backboard. Per NBA rules, a wedged ball triggers a jump ball at half-court.
The Sixers secured the ball, which made its way back to Oubre with under two seconds remaining. With little time to operate, Oubre attempted to drive the lane for a layup but was met by significant contact from Paul George. Leonard swatted away Oubre's shot attempt after time expired and no whistles were blown.
Kelly Oubre Jr. and Nick Nurse had words for the officials after the loss vs. the Clippers 😳 pic.twitter.com/Ksp3iSv7cp
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 28, 2024
From there, chaos ensued.
Oubre, clearly upset at the non-call, first directed a one-finger gesture at official Brandon Adair from the floor. As Oubre was brought to his feet, Nurse berated officials and needed to be restrained by assistant coach Brian Gates and team security.
As Nurse was restrained, Oubre joined in, directing what seemed to be a profanity-laced tirade toward each of the officials.
After the game, Oubre issued an apology for his postgame actions.
"We're not perfect. The refs aren't perfect. I want to apologize for just losing my cool because that's something I try to work on each and every day and try to represent God in the best way I possibly can and that wasn't it. I just ask for forgiveness," Oubre said.
"I saw Coach Nurse getting riled up and if our coach is going to fight for us and he's going there, then I'm right behind him. But at the end of the day, it wasn't cool, so I'll take whatever penalties come with that."
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Officials admit an incorrect non-call during Clippers vs. 76ers ending
Following the game, Crew Chief Kevin Scott addressed the game's final 8.8 seconds with Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Notably, Scott said that Leonard did not commit illegal contact on the penultimate play of the game before adding that George should have been whistled for a foul on the game's final play.
"On the last play on the floor, in real time the crew interpreted that play as the defender jumping vertically," Scott said. "However, in post-game video review we did observe some slight drift to his left by the defender George, and a foul should have been ruled."
