Although we'd never say no to free basketball, Tuesday night's Rockets-Thunder season opener could have avoided a double overtime entirely had refs noticed Houston forward Kevin Durant seemingly calling for a timeout at the end of the first OT.
The Rockets had no timeouts left, so there would have been a technical foul called and OKC could have broken the tie and won without playing another five minutes. The team would go on to get the dub regardless, but that could have been a defining moment had Houston managed to walk away with it instead.
Speaking after the contest, star Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said he "definitely" thinks KD tried to call a timeout, but that there is nothing to be done about it now.
“Kevin definitely called timeout about three times," SGA said, per Thunder beat reporter Brandon Rahbar. "Verbally and physically. The refs just missed it. That’s life.”
He added that everybody makes mistakes and that's that.
So it sounds like the reigning MVP won't be getting too wound up about this near-snafu, although he might have had a different reaction—one similar to the one coach Mark Daigneault had on the court—had the Thunder lost.
In postgame comments, Daigneault said, "I saw what I saw. I said what I said. I said my peace on the court, I'm not going to do it here. ... I trust [the officials] on the game. I said what I needed to say and I'm over it now."
And as for the refs' response, Crew Chief Zach Zarba said that "none of the three game officials saw Kevin signal that timeout. That’s why [a technical] wasn’t granted before the expiration of time," per the pool report.
A whole thing. Well, aside from that, the first game of Tuesday night's opener and the NBA's return to NBC were every bit as exciting as fans wanted. SGA, for what it's worth, finished with 35 points, five rebounds and five assists.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as SGA Says Kevin Durant 'Definitely' Tried to Call Timeout in Rockets-Thunder Debacle.