Stephen A. Smith calls foul “disgraceful” and condemns Marc Davis for calling such a soft foul on Jimmy Butler for last play of the game.
Advertisement
NBA Twitter has been set ablaze these past 30 minutes in response to the wild and bizarre ending to Game 2 between the Miami Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Miami Heat take Game 2 against the Bucks in a nail biter, 116-114 win. However, the way the Heat won this ball game is what’s being talked about the most.
Also read: Jimmy Butler had stepped out of bounds before his costly turnover vs Bucks in Game 2
The game ended with Jimmy Butler taking 2 free throws with all other 9 players on the floor, being told to stay outside of the 3 point arc.
Jimmy Butler hits the free throw for the win! pic.twitter.com/7L5cGaUwSi
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 3, 2020
What was NBA Twitter’s reaction to this call?
The call on the floor made by Marc Davis was a foul on Jimmy Butler in the act of shooting. The foul was committed by Giannis Antetokounmpo with 0.0 seconds left on the clock. Giannis stretched out his left arm, grazing Butler’s body after Butler had let the shot go with 0.3 seconds left in the game.
Stephen A. Smith had some choice words for Marc Davis’s decision, calling the foul a “ticky tack,” foul.
That is absolutely, positively, a shameful call by Marc Davis. How can you make that ticky-taco call in that situation! I picked the @MiamiHEAT to win this series, but to make that call in a time game with 0:00 on the clock is disgraceful. @Bucks should’ve walked off before FT’s
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) September 3, 2020
Jimmy Butler’s former teammate Joel Embiid has been very active on Twitter regarding this series and even he chimed in with his own opinion.
That’s not a foul
— Joel “Troel” Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) September 3, 2020
Was Marc Davis right in calling that foul?
It is no question that Giannis Antetokounmpo had contact with Jimmy Butler upon release of his shot. Marc Davis called it a foul because he felt the contact Giannis created with Butler was enough to alter the course of his Jimmy’s jumper.
Jimmy Butler wins Game 2 at the line after a last second foul. WOW. pic.twitter.com/4LfyRqCL3T
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 3, 2020
However, most of the reactions to this call by Marc Davis have been about how the foul was ‘too soft’ and that he should’ve let the foul go.
This is the first time in the Playoffs since Game 1 of the 1979 NBA Finals, that a game was decided based on free throws taken with the clock expired.