The Miami Heat narrowly defeated the OKC Thunder 110-108 after a controversial no-call on Josh Giddey on the final possession.
After Tyler Herro hit the huge go-ahead shot on the previous play with 4.4 seconds remaining in the game, the Thunder had a chance to even the scores or win the game with a three.
Shai Gilgous-Alexander missed the potential game tying mid-range shot, but Giddey grabbed the offensive board and appeared to be shoved in the back when he went back up to try and lay the ball in.
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Thu, 15 Dec
Thursday December 15th
Time expired as both Giddey and Gilgeous-Alexander argued the call with the referee to no avail in a wild finish to the Paycom Center clash.
“Giddey got taken out underneath the rim … Giddey thought he got fouled on the reverse,” Thunder commentator Chris Fisher said.
“Just a little bit of a shove from Oladipo on the back. Giddey the entire time was taken off his spot.”
Giddey finished with a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double plus seven assists in 36 minutes in a strong performance from the Aussie.
But it was Herro, who had a game-high 35 points with nine threes, and the Heat that had the last laugh to improve to 14-15 – marking their third win from their last four games to creep closer to getting back to .500 .
Gilgeous-Alexander led all Thunder starters in double figures with 27, adding eight rebounds and seven assists, but it wasn’t enough as Mark Daigneault’s team dropped its fourth in a row to fall to 11-17.
CURRY SUFFERES SHOULDER INJURY
The Golden State Warriors have dropped a second-straight game in a 119-125 road loss to the Indiana Pacers.
But Steve Kerr’s team has bigger problems.
Steph Curry exited the game early during the third quarter with a shoulder injury and did not return after a huge performance from the superstar – ending with 38 points, five triples, seen rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block in 29 minutes.
If losing Curry wasn’t enough, Draymond Green got ejected from the contest early in the fourth after receiving a second technical foul for arguing with a referee, as the Warriors, already playing without Klay Thompson (rest), could not complete a complete .
With it, Golden State fell to 14-14 on the season to occupy the West’s 10th seed, while Indiana snapped a two-game losing streak.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said post-match Curry would get an MRI on his left shoulder as the reigning champions anxiously await the results amid an already shaky season.
“We’ll see how he is tomorrow,” Kerr told reporters.
“I checked in with him briefly, but I haven’t had a chance to go into detail with him.
“Steph is always a guy with a great outlook on life, so he was in good spirits. We’ll hope for the best.”
Tyrese Haliburton put up a team-high 29 points with six assists to lead the Pacers, while Bennedict Mathurin scored 24 off the bench.
ALL RESULTS
PISTONS 141 HORNETS 134
WARRIORS 119 PACERS 125
HAWKS 124 MAGIC 135
KINGS 124 RAPTOR’S 123
KNICKS 128 BULLS 120
HEAT 110 THUNDER 108
TRAIL BLAZERS 128 SPURS 112
CAVALIERS – MAVERICKS
WIZARDS – NUGGETS
TIMBERWOLVES – CLIPPERS
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