The Cavaliers got a bit of a favorable road whistle.
With three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of a tied game Wednesday in Game 5, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell was blocked by Pistons stud defender Ausar Thompson as he attempted a game-winning shot.
As the ball trickled toward the sideline, Thompson gave chase with roughly one second remaining, only for Jarrett Allen to come crashing in, appearing to step on Thompson’s leg and sending him to the ground while the ball scooted away and the clock expired.
Many believe that a loose-ball foul should have been assessed on Allen, which would have led to free throws for Thompson that could have potentially sealed the game for Detroit.
Instead, the Cavaliers used their fourth-quarter momentum to down Detroit in overtime, 117-113, to take a 3-2 series lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Pistons were furious with the no-call.
“[Jarrett Allen] fouled Ausar,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff told reporters postgame. “It’s clear. He trips him when he’s going for a loose ball. End of game situation, that’s tough.”
“That’s a foul,” said star Cade Cunningham. “It’s been a foul the whole game — wasn’t a foul at that time.”
“We, the Pistons, we know it was a foul,” fill-in starter Daniss Jenkins added. “But we don’t expect that.”
Crew chief Tony Brothers defended the decision to not blow the whistle.
“During live play, both players were going for the ball and there was incidental contact with the legs with no player having possession of the ball,” Brothers told a pool reporter.
The NBA league office will review the play and issue a report on whether a foul should have been assessed.
The Cavaliers’ favorable whistle isn’t isolated to this play — they have shot 100 free throws in the last three games — while the Pistons have shot just 54.
Cleveland has won these last three games and has an opportunity to close it out at home Friday, with the Knicks waiting in the Eastern Conference finals.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
