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Making sense of the bonkers ending to Game 2 of Thunder-Spurs

The Oklahoma City Thunder survived Game 2 in San Antonio, 98-97, thanks in part to some terrible officiating.

First, let’s watch the entire final possession.

The Thunder’s Dion Waiters was inbounding the ball with Manu Ginobili defending. While still looking for a pass, Waiters gave Ginobili a shove. The ball had not been inbounded, and Ginobili was hit with an elbow.

Ginobili sold the contact a bit, but how was that not called? It should have been a foul on Waiters, and TNT analyst Chris Webber lost his mind about the no-call.

But even in that craziness, the Spurs had a chance to win. Waiters threw the ball away after an apparent Danny Green foul was not called.

Ginobili was able to find Patty Mills for an open look at a 3, and he missed badly. Then a scramble at the rim ensued for the ball. There appeared to be at least three fouls in that pile, but nothing was called and time ran out.

Oklahoma City won. You can breathe now.

And everybody completely freaked out because that was insane.

While many will focus on the inbound no-call (how does the official miss that?), the Spurs still had a great look. But still, the entire officiating crew swallowed the whistle and let the mayhem play out on its own. That’s a problem. The fans deserve better. The teams deserve better.

This game’s two-minute officiating report will be a must read — that’s for sure.

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