What is the NBA’s Goaltending Violation – Was Josh Giddey Wrongfully Called for it in the Controversial Loss vs Warriors?

It was indeed a tough night for the Golden State Warriors while playing the OKC Thunder at the Paycom Center. It was a head-to-head game, with both teams thriving and competing to score over the opponent.

What was expected to go overtime since both teams were standing at 139-139 took a 180 by the end of the fourth quarter. However, a little controversy by the end is what no one would have expected. Well, it’s the winning basket that is under question.

Stephen Curry and the winning layup under question

With just 2 seconds remaining in the game, the Warriors’ point guard, Stephen Curry, scored a two-point driving layup. However, it was Josh Giddey who was called into question for goaltending. Trying to divert the ball in the downward flight while Stephen Curry was trying to score, Draymond Green got well entangled in the questioning.

Given that the same basket would ensure whether the team would win or lose, the referees seemed to be a little biased tonight, according to the commentators. Although Draymond pushed the rim and hurt his hand in the act, the call wasn’t overturned, making it a historical decision. 

The reason cited for overturning the call was that the rim touch by Green didn’t cause the ball to take an unnatural bounce. However, the act of touching the net by Giddey was called into question. In an apparent violation of the NBA’s rules on goaltending, Curry was awarded the bucket after carefully reviewing the call made by Josh Giddey.

Taking the lead in the last quarter (35-33), the Golden State Warriors registered their fifth consecutive victory this season.

Josh Giddey and the NBA’s rules for goaltending

The first situation for making a call for goaltending has to do with touching or disturbing the rim in any way. If a player touches the ball when it is in a downward flight, resulting in changing the motion and hence diverting the direction, the act would be counted as goaltending.

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In tonight’s match, Josh Giddey touched the net, while Draymond Green made a jump and touched the rim when it was in the imaginary cylinder. However, the call was under the scrutiny of the reviewers, and the decision prevailed. Although the Warriors won, despair could be spotted in the eyes of the OKC Thunder players.

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Do you think the refs made the right call? Or were the Thunder hard done by?