Sorry Hawks fans, this sucks. And there is no recourse.
The NBA has admitted referees blew call in the final seconds Thursday that could have changed the outcome of the Hawks Game 6 loss to Boston that eliminated them.
If you were watching the TNT broadcast you heard the announcing crew confused by the call at the time. Here is a link to the video.
With 3.1 seconds left and Atlanta down 2, the Hawks were trying to inbound the ball and Boston’s Marquis Daniels was called for holding Atlanta’s Al Horford before the ball was inbounded.
A foul on an inbounds play before the ball is released means a free throw and the ball out of bounds. However, referee Eric Lewis said that the ball was in the air at the time of the foul and that made it just a common foul. The Celtics had a foul to give so the Hawks just got to inbound the ball again.
However, the replay clearly showed that the ball was not released at the time of the foul. Atlanta should have had been awarded a free throw and still had the ball out of bounds.
On the ensuing play, Horford was again fouled by Daniels but in the act of shooting. Horford hit one of two free throws, the Hawks went on to lose 83-80.
No, there is nothing the Hawks can do about it.
