Foul! Kings told again that refs missed late call in a loss

Published Nov. 8, 2022 6:42 p.m. ET

Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Sacramento Kings were right, again. And it didn’t matter, again.

For the third time this season, the NBA has told the Kings that a critical call was blown in the final moments of what became a close loss. The latest entry on that list: that Kevin Huerter was fouled by Golden State’s Klay Thompson on a 3-point try as time was expiring in the Kings’ 116-113 loss to the Warriors on Monday night.

That was revealed in the NBA’s Last 2 Minute Report that was released Tuesday, with the league saying that Thompson made contact with Huerter's arm, affecting a shot that fell short of the basket.

The L2MR details all officiated events — calls and key non-calls — down the stretch of games where the margin was three points or less at any time in the final 2 minutes. The NBA uses it for transparency.

“Kevin got fouled,” Sacramento coach Mike Brown told reporters after the game. “I know there are missed calls throughout the course of the game, missed calls on us, missed calls on our opponent. I just want, at the end of the game, somebody to step up and make the right call.”

Last Wednesday, Tyler Herro hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds left in what became a three-point win for Miami. The Kings argued that he traveled; the next day, the NBA said that indeed was the case.

The third instance wasn't as dramatic as the Huerter-Thompson play or the Herro shot. On Oct. 22, Kings guard De’Aaron Fox was fouled by the Los Angeles Clippers’ Paul George on a shot attempt with 1:20 left. It wasn’t called; the NBA said the following day it should have been. The Kings wound up losing that game by two points.

The Kings are 3-6 so far this season, 13th in the 15-team Western Conference.

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