NBA: Three missed calls on single possession help Warriors over Timberwolves

The Warriors continued their march toward 73 wins with a win over the Timberwolves on Monday.

Thanks in part to the officials.

Golden State reached 63-7 after three missed calls on a single possession, according to the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report. The errors came with the Warriors up two in the final minutes.

It started with Draymond Green’s comically illegal screen on Ricky Rubio with 46.6 seconds remaining. NBA:

Green (GSW) extends his arms and continues moving as he sets the screen on Rubio (MIN) without giving him room to avoid the contact.

Then, Green got away with travelling with 40.2 seconds left. NBA:

Green (GSW) moves his pivot foot on the spin move.

Green missed his shot and Minnesota got the rebound, anyway, making those missed calls somewhat irrelevant. A correct call on either would’ve given the Timberwolves the ball, which they got anyway – though the errors allowed Golden State to run clock.

The key missed call came on the scramble for the rebound after Green’s miss. Harrison Barnes got away with a loose-ball foul on Andrew Wiggins, according to the NBA:

Barnes (GSW) grabs and holds Wiggins’ (MIN) jersey, affecting his ability to retrieve the rebound.

That would’ve sent Wiggins – who’s making 75% of his free throws this season – to the line for two attempts and a chance to tie.

Instead, Wiggins missed a difficult shot, and Minnesota had to begin intentionally fouling. From there, the Warriors pulled away for a 109-104 win.