Julius Randle’s stunning buzzer-beating three-pointer that clinched the victory for the Timberwolves in tonight’s contest at Target Center has sparked a debate, dividing the internet over the officials’ controversial no-call. Eddie Johnson, a Phoenix legend, declared on X that his former team was wronged.
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Johnson didn’t mince his words lashing out at the level of officiating that was on display during the final play of the game. He claimed that Randle’s “push off” against Josh Okogie was evident.
“Straight push off in full view of three officials and not one has the guts to make the call. The @NBA cannot continue to allow games to end like this at the buzzer,” Johnson laid out his frustrations on X.
Straight push off in full view of three officials and not one has the guts to make the call. The @NBA cannot continue to allow games to end like this at the buzzer.
— Eddie A Johnson (@Jumpshot8) November 17, 2024
In real-time, it didn’t seem as though Randle made a lot of contact with Okogie for the play to be deemed as an offensive foul. The officials even took a long look during the review, eventually ruling off the possibility of an overturned decision.
Okogie’s fall seemed like a flop to most on-lookers as well.
But Johnson’s frustrations seemed to be somewhat justified after photos of the play were published on social media. Pictures from different angles make it clear that the Wolves’ forward did have his entire arm extended while creating space for the step-back shot. However, Okogie falling down sliding on the floor was certainly an attempt to sell the offensive foul call.
“Okogie flopped”
Blud has his arm fully extended pic.twitter.com/mpVKbdOpif
— Book’em (@dbookownsyou) November 17, 2024
Members of the Suns, understandably, believe that they were robbed of a huge win on the road. Mike Budenholzer summed up the opinions of every Phoenix personnel when he admitted to be “frustrated” at the officiating.
“Good coverage, good switches. Credit to Randle. He made a tough shot. That’s a push off earlier in the game. Not called a push off late. That can be frustrating. Consistency from the start of the game to end of game,” Budenholzer said during the post-game press conference.
The Suns aimed to cap off their four-game road trip with a strong win against Anthony Edwards and his squad. Instead, they’ll fly back to Arizona with a three-game losing skid. Despite the disheartening end to tonight’s game, the team should focus on the positive takeaways, almost upsetting the Wolves without Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal is not nothing.
The Suns will eye for redemption on Monday night’s clash against the Orlando Magic after their 117-120 loss tonight.
