Celtics

6 missed calls at end of Game 6, per Last Two Minute Report

Four were against the Celtics, including two incorrect calls on Derrick White.

Jayson Tatum takes umbrage with a call in Game 6. Jim Davis/Globe Staff

May 28, 2022

Prior to Saturday, it had been more than two weeks since the NBA released a Last Two Minute Report.

With so many lopsided games, and fewer pivotal calls as a result, there wasn’t a need.

That changed following the Heat’s 111-103 Game 6 triumph over the Celtics. The NBA’s report revealed that four calls went against the Celtics and two against the Heat in the final moments of Friday’s game.

The first occurred with 1:51 remaining, when Bam Adebayo should have been whistled for defensive three seconds violation.

The next came six seconds later, when Derrick White reached in and made what’s described as “marginal contact” with P.J. Tucker’s side. White was perhaps a bit overly aggressive, but the report shared that the contact wasn’t enough to warrant a foul. The reach-in led to two free throws and kept momentum on Miami’s side.

The L2M report for the qualifying game played yesterday has been posted on https://t.co/cuOspJGQdY
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) May 28, 2022

The third involved White and Tucker once again and happened when Tucker grabbed a traffic rebound and White tried to slap the ball out of his hands. “White (BOS) makes clean contact with the ball and the contact with Tucker’s (MIA) hand on the ball is considered incidental.”

That led to two more free throws, which is when the pendulum really started to swing the Heat’s direction. Those first three calls were the most pivotal, and all three went the Heat’s way.

The fourth went Miami’s direction. It came with the Celtics down six, when Jayson Tatum slid his pivot foot at the start of his dribble, which should’ve been called a travel. He ended up scoring, so that was a big no-call at the time.

The fifth happened when Adebayo should have been called for an offensive three seconds violation with 30 ticks remaining. The Heat were up four at that point, so it was a key no-call that hurt the Celtics.

The sixth and final missed call was at the very end, with the game essentially decided, when White should have been called for five seconds while trying to inbound the ball. That one didn’t have much of an effect on the outcome.