This was not one of those times.
With the Thunder already ahead by double digits against the best team in the league Tuesday, the officials decided to give OKC a break and call a foul on KD for “tripping” Westbrook on his drive to the basket.
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It’s not like official Lauren Holtkamp can feign ignorance or claim her sight was obstructed. She had a pretty good view of the play.
Referees often claim that a game like basketball moves so fast that it’s nearly impossible to call it perfectly. But this one seemed too obvious to mess up.
UPDATE: Durant chose not to be too critical of Holtkamp after the game.
“She just probably missed it, just like we missed assignments (and) a bunch of layups and free throws,” he told reporters (per Mark Medina of the Mercury News).
“It was just a bad play, probably a bad misjudgment on her end,” he added.
UPDATE 2: Westbrook, of course, knows he caught a break. Per Logan Murdock of the Mercury News:
“I just tripped. It was a missed a call. It happens throughout the league, a lot of missed calls that go on. Happens.”
