Referee report for Rockets vs Thunder: Missed technical foul on Durant's timeout request and missed foul on Amen's shot attempt

On October 23rd Beijing time, the NBA officially released the last two minutes referee report. The report revealed that during the double overtime game between the Rockets and Thunder, there were two missed calls in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and both overtimes, with each team disadvantaged once. Details are as follows—

The first missed call occurred with 1 minute 15 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Amen Thompson drove to the basket, and Alexander’s close defense interfered, resulting in Amen missing the shot. The referee report indicated that Alexander made contact with Amen’s arm, affecting his shot. This was a defensive foul that should have been called, granting Amen two free throws. This missed call disadvantaged the Rockets and benefited the Thunder.

The second missed call happened with 0.8 seconds left in the first overtime when Durant grabbed a rebound and signaled for a timeout, but the referees did not see it. If the timeout request had been acknowledged, the Rockets would have been assessed a technical foul because they had no timeouts left. The Thunder should have been awarded a technical free throw. This missed call disadvantaged the Thunder and benefited the Rockets. The lead referee admitted this error immediately after the game, stating that none of the officials saw Durant’s timeout request.

The referee report confirmed that aside from these two missed calls, all other decisions within the regulated time frame were accurate.

This season opener was fiercely contested, with both teams battling through two overtimes before a winner emerged. Alexander scored 35 points and hit the game-winning free throws to narrowly defeat the Rockets. The Rockets’ Sengun contributed 39 points, and Durant scored 23 points before fouling out with six fouls. It was Durant’s final foul that gave Alexander the chance to take the free throws that ended the Rockets’ hopes. Durant also admitted after the game that his mistake contributed to the Rockets’ loss.