Refs admit missing Kyrie Irving foul on crucial Game 2 turnover but couldn't change the call in Timberwolves' loss

It didn’t take long at all for the referees to make their impact felt on the Western Conference Finals between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks — and this incident should probably lead to a rule change in the NBA.

Towards the very end of the fourth quarter of Game 2 in Minneapolis on Friday night, Dallas’ Kyrie Irving tried to swipe the ball away from the T-Wolves’ Jaden McDaniels along the baseline, but clearly fouled McDaniels in the process, causing him to lose the ball out of bounds.

What was initially ruled Minnesota ball was then challenged by the Mavericks and this is where the trouble begins.

They gave the ball to Dallas after this while the Wolves were in the bonus. Just gross officiating. https://t.co/pcVUEy7TDw pic.twitter.com/W7YfEcusYg

— MNMuse (@statmusewolves) May 25, 2024

The officials could clearly see that McDaniels was the last person to touch the ball even though it was Irving who caused him to lose possession by hitting his arm. Unfortunately, refs aren’t allowed to assess a foul based on a replay, they were only allowed to determine who the ball touched last.

This meant instead of Irving picking up a crucial foul with 47 seconds remaining in regulation and Minnesota up 108-106, his hack on McDaniels was rewarded with possession of the ball.

While Dallas didn’t immediately score after getting the ball back, it did keep the Timberwolves from running down the clock and potentially adding to their late lead. Instead, Luka Doncic hit a go-ahead 24-foot step back over Rudy Gobert with three seconds left to give Dallas a 109-108 victory and a 2-0 series lead.

Even the officials seemed to know it was a tough look, but NBA rules prevented them from assessing a foul instead of a turnover.

Per the Minnesota Star-Tribune’s Chris Hine:

Conducted the pool report tonight in which Zach Zarba said a foul on Jaden McDaniels “should have been called” on Kyrie Irving on the play that was reviewed, but officials couldn’t rule it a foul on the Dallas challenge because it was only reviewing who touched it last. pic.twitter.com/aZEvzcB7ZC

— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) May 25, 2024

Credit to Dallas for using a massive loophole to its benefit, but this just does not feel like it’s in the spirit of the rule at all. And what’s the point of using replay to make the correct call if refs are instructed to disregard blatant fouls?

Obviously this is not the only reason why Minnesota lost, but it very clearly changed the momentum of the game with less than a minute left.

The NBA needs to fix this before next season.