The Sunday night NBA games had enough drama to offer to the fans. Though it was a popcorn-munching time for the fans, the players and coaches had a rough time, pleading with the refs. In some cases, they even reached out to the media to let their frustrations out. It was a barrage of controversial calls from the refs and, some of them, produced game-changing results. While the coaches appeal to Adam Silver, let’s dig deeper at three controversial calls from tonight’s action.

These calls involve superstars like Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum, and Anthony Edwards. So, the commissioner has the pressure to consider the issue before it blows up in the hoop nation.

1. Greek Freak almost leaves Jayson Tatum injured as calls for Adam Silver to improve officiating standards

The Milwaukee Bucks hosted the defending champions, Boston Celtics, for the Sunday night clash. Unlike their poor form this season, the Wisconsin team went off to a flying start and recorded an 11-point lead in the first half. However, in the second half, the Celts pulled the game back with a strong stretch in the third quarter, restricting the Bucks to only 15 points. Nevertheless, the refs almost marred the team’s third-quarter effort with an appalling missed call.

As the Celtics slowly closed down on the Bucks’ lead, the defenders had the pressure to cramp up their space and reduce the buckets. In the same vein, with an attempt to stop Jayson Tatum‘s three-point launch from the left corner, Giannis Antetokounmpo slid his leg under JT’s jump. Importantly, the landing space fouls are automatic calls and often come with a flagrant foul. Here, the refs didn’t move a muscle while Tatum was withering in pain. Adam Silver, earlier spoke of training the officials to probably avoid an incident like this.

Importantly, Joe Mazzulla had to call a timeout to get the support staff to check on JT. addressing the missed call, Mazzulla termed it “ridiculous”. On the other hand, Tatum let his anger out in the post-game presser, saying, “It’s a tough situation… But certain calls I feel like [referees] can’t miss. Your job is to protect the guys on the court, protect the shooter.”

“That’s something I could’ve been out for six weeks… for it to be a no-call… that s**t is frustrating,” continued Tatum, pointing to the negligence in the refs. While this play may have left JT injured, the other two instances altered the result of the game.

2. Refs save the Dubs from embarrassment as they almost blew a 30-point lead

The Golden State Warriors have had an impressive run this season with a refined version, attacking on both ends of the court. Tonight, it wasn’t any different while facing the OKC Thunder. After a slow start in the first quarter, they picked up pace in the next two quarters and produced a dominant offensive display. They looked unbeatable at one point, heading into the fourth quarter with a 28-point lead.

However, the Dubs lost their grip as the Thunder returned with a mission. With quick three-pointers at regular intervals, they brought down the deficit to 9 points with 5 minutes remaining in the game. At that time, during a Warriors’ offensive play, Draymond Green and Luguentz Dort got off to an off-ball tussle, leaving the refs to call a personal foul on Dort.

The OKC coach Mark Daigneault, who seemed disappointed with the ref’s misjudgment, used the coach’s challenge. Guess what? The decision was overturned, and the refs slapped a technical foul on Green for unsportsmanlike flail, as he slammed Dort’s head. This isn’t the end of the story. Now that Coach Daigneault has used up his challenge, he couldn’t challenge a clear out-of-bounds call against the team two minutes later. And boom, Stephen Curry hits a dagger from the distance in the same play.

Notably, Mark Daigneault can be seen arguing with the refs after the controversial Dort call, pleading to return his challenge. Speaking of it in the post-game presser, he said, “My thing is, they got to run the game… If a guy is hit in the head like that, they got to go look at it. And if they did, they would’ve found the technical foul. I would have a challenge in my pocket. I would challenge Curry-play. We would have the ball instead of giving up the three.” 

Nevertheless, we could give the benefit of the doubt to the Warriors, as they still held the lead in the final minutes. And Steph could’ve dropped another three. However, in the final instance, the controversial call literally affected the result. Another incident for Adam Silver to note.

3. Anthony Edwards argues with the ref as Butler-less Heat steal a win

The struggling Miami Heat visited the in-form Wolves and surprisingly it turned into a close game. With 9 seconds left in the game, the Wolves looked comfortable to win, especially with the kind of defense prowess they hold. However, the Heat had an advantage, as they had a foul to give.

The Heat managed to take a one-point lead with 7 seconds remaining on the clock. With a dire need for the bucket, Mike Conley Jr. got the crucial pass and attempted a mid-range jumper, but he was fouled by Tyler Herro. However, the refs called it a defensive foul, citing that Herro made contact before Conley took the shot.

Following this, Anthony Edwards had a long debate with the refs, asking for a shooting foul, but it didn’t make any difference. Again, with three seconds left on the clock, Conley once again missed the shot, and the Wolves took a frustrating one-point loss.

While the call didn’t impact the Celtics’ result, the refs’ call influenced the game result in the other two instances. Will Adam Silver take note of it and bring an improvement in the officials? Let us know in the comments.