The refs missing San Antonio Spurs center Luke Kornet accidentally kicking the basketball almost cost the New York Knicks Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Friday night.
The road playoff game ended in victory for the Knicks, giving them a 2-0 series lead on the Spurs and a red carpet to walk on all the way back to Madison Square Garden for a surely electric Games 3 and 4 in the Big Apple.
Advertisement
However, the series very easily could have gone to 1-1 if the Spurs were able to close out the game with any sort of basket as time expired. The reason San Antonio got the ball to set up the last-second shot after a missed Knicks superstar guard Jalen Brunson free-throw is because Kornet secured the ball just in time for a timeout.
However, as the ESPN broadcast pointed out, Kornet accidentally kicks at the ball during the scram to gain possession. A kicked ball violation would have changed the entire trajectory of the game’s final moments.
