Stephen Curry missed a 3-pointer, and the rebound bounced toward halfcourt. Draymond Green dove on the loose ball and called timeout with 0.9 seconds left – despite the Warriors having no timeouts remaining.
Chris Webber Part II?
Not quite. Green had little recourse while lying on the floor so far from the basket. If he didn’t call timeout, time would’ve expired before he could get up to shoot.
Green’s timeout actually kept Golden State’s longshot hopes alive. Though it drew a technical foul and Kawhi Leonard made the ensuing free throw, the Raptors still had to inbound. They did, to Leonard, who still had to make a pair of free throws to effectively end the game. He did, and Toronto became NBA champions.
Just don’t blame Green’s timeout. It actually helped the Warriors, but just wasn’t enough – which makes sense considering they were in such a desperate situation, an illegal timeout was their best recourse.