The challenge for the Portland Trail Blazers in the Tuesday night game against the Oklahoma City Thunder appears unlikely to yield success. The NBA, in its last-two-minute report, affirmed the correctness of the double-dribble call against Trail Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon with 15.7 seconds remaining.
The report stated that the two technical fouls issued to Portland head coach Chauncey Billups were also deemed correct.
The report detailed the sequence, stating, “Brogdon (POR) ends his dribble and gets trapped by Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) and Williams (OKC). He thereafter dribbles again.” It also mentioned that the attempt by Coach Billups to call a timeout during this play was not recognized or granted by the officials.
The second technical foul against Billups was described as him “aggressively following and pursuing a game official and being assessed a second unsportsmanlike technical foul and ejected from the game.”
At the time of the incident, Portland held a narrow 109-108 lead. Billups had sought a timeout before the double-dribble call against Brogdon, and when it wasn’t granted, he protested. The subsequent free throws and the game-winning possession for the Thunder followed.
Despite the controversial sequence, the Trail Blazers filed a protest with the NBA office, arguing that the timeout should have been granted before the double-dribble violation, potentially altering the course of events.
Billups expressed frustration, saying, “I’m at halfcourt trying to call a timeout. It’s just a frustrating play. My guys played too hard for that. It’s a frustrating play.”
Crew chief Bill Kennedy addressed the situation after the game, explaining that the referee in the slot position was focused on refereeing the double-team in front of him, making it difficult to hear and see a coach’s timeout request behind him. The referee is instructed to officiate the play until completion.
Despite the setback, the Trail Blazers rebounded with an overtime victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
