Last week, the Houston Rockets protested after James Harden’s dunk didn’t count in their loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Now, in the wake of the controversy, Adam Silver, Commissioner of the NBA, has denied the protest.
In a statement released by the NBA, the league explained its reasoning behind denying the protest, all while highlighting the fact that the refs messed up. ”While agreeing that the referees misapplied the rules, Commissioner Silver determined that the Rockets had sufficient time to overcome the error during the remainder of the fourth quarter and two subsequent overtime periods. Thus the extraordinary remedy of granting a game protest was not warranted,” the statement read.
Had Harden’s dunk been accepted, the Rockets would have had a 104-89 lead in the fourth quarter with 7:50 remaining in the game.
The dunk wasn’t accepted as officials ruled basket interference after the ball went through the net with enough force to spin around the basket and bounce around the rim.
Mike D’Antoni, coach of the Rockets, protested the call, however, missed the 30-second mark to issue the coach’s challenge. After the game, official, James Capers, agreed that the dunk should have been accounted for, giving the Rockets two extra points.
“I’m starting to sour on it for some reason,” D’Antoni said, speaking on the rule. “It’s a tough rule. I don’t have all the answers. I don’t know how you use it. I guess you have to wait until something catastrophic happens. We haven’t figured it out.”
