The NBA ruled Monday in its officiating Last Two Minute Report that Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant was indeed guilty of a discontinued dribble on the play that led to the winning points in Sunday's victory over the Miami Heat at Oracle Arena.
Not that it offered after-the-fact consolation to Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.
"Basically what I said is we disagreed. It just didn't look right, it didn't feel right," Spoelstra said before his team faced the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.
Per the league report: "Combining video evidence from multiple angles confirms that the ball does not make contact with Winslow's (MIA) foot/shin and a discontinued dribble should have been called on Durant (GSW)."
Spoelstra stressed it was time to move forward.
"I walked out of that building with an L on our heads," he said. "And, at the end of the day, you deserve it. And we'll take accountability, the things that we could have done better."
The decisive sequence in question began with the score tied at 118, with 23.7 seconds to play, when the Warriors played for a final shot, with Durant trying to get free with his dribble. He then briefly lost his dribble, with the ball rolling as the Warriors forward moved to regain possession.
Allowed to play on, Durant then hoisted an errant 3-pointer, with the rebound corralled by teammate DeMarcus Cousins. With the Warriors center fouled by Heat forward Justise Winslow on the play, Cousins converted two free throws with 5.4 seconds to close out the scoring.
"That's the worst job in the league is to officiate, so I have empathy for how difficult that can be," Spoelstra said. "But accountability all across, that's what this league wants, that's what this league is about."
The Heat's bid to match that score ended on an errant 3-point attempt by guard Dion Waiters with 2.3 seconds to play and then a failed bid by teammate Bam Adebayo to score on a follow-up attempt with two-tenths of a second remaining in what turned into the 120-118 loss.
A source confirmed to the South Florida Sun Sentinel that Spoelstra would not be fined for his Sunday postgame comments that included noting the Warriors attempting 26 free throws to the Heat's eight.
Spoelstra said Monday he had not considered the possibility of a fine.
"I didn't say anything inflammatory," he said. "I'm allowed to say my piece about that. I didn't cross the line, so I didn't anticipate that I would be fined."
After Sunday's loss, Spoelstra emerged from the locker room and said, "Look, NBA, do not fine me. I'm allowed to say this. It ends up being 26 to 8. I know nobody wants to hear that, and that's not why we lost.
"The officials, so let's be clear about it, so I do not get fined, that's not why we lost. But you hate to see 26 to 8 when our guys are going aggressively."
Spoelstra said Monday that made it about more than the final two minutes.
"I understand the two-minute report," he said. "And I understand the accountability. We just want them to watch the game film and watch some of the things that we saw."
The Heat also contended that forward Josh Richardson was knocked off balance on the play that instead resulted on Waiters' final jumper.
The officiating report, however, noted a correct no-call, citing, "Thompson (GSW) does not appear to extend his leg unnaturally and there is no conclusive angle that shows foot contact while trailing Richardson (MIA). From broadcast, it appears that Richardson may trip over Adebayo's (MIA) foot as he comes off the screen."
Spoelstra said he reviewed all the video on the flight from Oakland to Denver.
"I was angry," he said. "I went through things that we could have done better, regardless of how that went. That's all."
