According to the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report on Wednesday, the NBA officiating crew was correct in not ruling that Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun had signaled for a timeout when the Nuggets had none remaining at the end of their 119-115 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday.
NBA says Denver Nuggets’ Christian Braun “never fully or clearly signals for a timeout and therefore a timeout is not recognized”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was enraged at the end of the game when it appeared to him that Braun had signaled for a timeout after securing a loose ball with 1.9 seconds left while on the floor.
If Braun had called a timeout with none left, it would have resulted in a technical foul, giving the Warriors a free throw and a possession. Instead, officials called a jump ball.
The L2M reports for the qualifying games played yesterday have been posted on https://t.co/cuOspJGQdY.
— NBA Official (@NBAOfficial) December 4, 2024
Per the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report, Braun “never fully or clearly signals for a timeout and therefore a timeout is not recognized.” Braun said after the win that he knew the Nuggets were without any timeouts because coach Michael Malone and his staff talked about it.
“No,” Braun said when asked whether he called timeout. “It might’ve looked like it, maybe. I was fumbling the ball on the ground a little bit. My hands moved but the refs didn’t call it.”
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr thought Denver should have been called for a technical foul
Kerr said it was obvious to him that Braun called a timeout when he recovered the ball.
“Braun called a timeout,” he said after the loss. “He dove on the floor, he rolled over. Everybody saw it except for the three guys we hire to do the games, and that makes me angry. That’s a technical foul. They don’t have a time [out] left. … We shoot a free throw, we get the ball, we got a chance to win the game.”
Christian Braun called timeout (they didn’t have any left).
Refs ignored it 💀 pic.twitter.com/BdHnzUgJxP
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) December 4, 2024
Golden State went on to lose their fifth consecutive game after surrendering a six-point lead in the final 2:32. Denver trailed by 11 with 6:13 left but finished the game on a 21-6 run.
Denver also extended its regular-season win streak against Golden State to eight games. The Nuggets have won 11 of the past 12 meetings. Eight of the past 10 matchups between the teams have been decided by six or fewer points.
This loss means Golden State will travel to Houston next week for the NBA Cup quarterfinals. The Nuggets will play at Cleveland on Thursday night at the same time the Warriors will host Houston.
