Honestly? The answer appears to be “yes.”
Last night the Oklahoma City Thunder stunned the 73-win Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals (in Oakland), and walked away with a chippy victory that saw poor shooting from both sides and, as has been tradition in these Western Conference playoffs, more late-game refereeing playing a huge role in the outcome of the game.
After clawing back from a 13-point halftime deficit, the Thunder were in position to potentially put the game away late in the fourth quarter. Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry missed a few key shots, and with time winding down in regulation, Russell Westbrook made a beeline for the sideline referee after a stout defensive possession to try and signal for a timeout.
The problem was, by the time Russ called for the timeout, he’d already appeared to have traveled. In the above clip, you can see him clearly drag his pivot foot without dribbling the ball, which would generally be called by referees.
Well, Russ was granted his timeout, Warriors coach Steve Kerr was furious, and the series is now 1-0 Thunder. Can’t wait until Wednesday night? Neither can we.
