Scheduled
2026-27 · Regular season
NBA says the Cavaliers got two late calls wrong in their overtime win over Minnesota, including a missed foul on Anthony Edwards
The league’s Last Two Minute report says James Harden should have been called for a shooting foul on Anthony Edwards in a tied game at the end of regulation, and that a foul on LaMelo Ball late in overtime was wrong. Both errors favored Cleveland in its 127-125 win.
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The NBA says the referees missed two calls late in Cleveland’s 127-125 overtime win over Minnesota on Monday, Oct. 26, and both went in the Cavaliers’ favor. The league’s Last Two Minute report, posted on Tuesday night, says James Harden should have been called for a shooting foul on Anthony Edwards with the game tied in the final seconds of regulation, and that a foul called on LaMelo Ball in the last 15 seconds of overtime should not have been called.
The report does not change the result. Cleveland is 2-1, and Minnesota fell to 3-1 in a game in which Edwards scored 47 points. A day later the Timberwolves said Edwards would have an arthroscopic procedure on his right knee and miss up to two months.
The missed foul at the end of regulation
Harden’s floater had tied the game at 113, and Minnesota had the last possession of regulation. Edwards drove to the basket, and Peyton Watson blocked his shot to send the game to overtime. The league says that before the block, with 6.2 seconds left, Harden came over to help and made contact that should have been a foul. “Harden (CLE) initiates contact with Edwards’ (MIN) arm, which affects his driving shot attempt,” the report says. It rates the play an incorrect non-call.
Called correctly, the play would have sent Edwards to the free-throw line for two shots in a tied game, with about six seconds left for Cleveland to answer. The report also says the referees were right to call Jaden McDaniels’ trip on Donovan Mitchell with 0.6 seconds left a non-shooting foul, because the contact came before Mitchell started his shooting motion.
The foul on LaMelo Ball in overtime
Cleveland led 123-122 with 14.3 seconds left in overtime when Ball was called for a personal foul against Mitchell. The league says that call was wrong. “Mitchell (CLE) dribbles the ball off Ball’s (MIN) foot, which causes Mitchell to lose control of the ball,” the report says, adding that the contact after the ball was knocked loose was incidental. That means play should have gone on with a loose ball.
Instead, Cleveland kept the ball and inbounded. Jonathan Kuminga was then called for a foul on Harden with 13 seconds left, and the report says that call was right: Kuminga touched the ball but did not knock it free before hitting Harden’s arm. Harden made both free throws for a 125-122 lead. Ball missed two free throws with 9.2 seconds left, Watson made two with 3.9 left, and Edwards’ three at the buzzer only cut the final margin to two.
The report also checked a play from the end of regulation, when Mitchell was called for a foul on Kuminga’s shot with 25.9 seconds left. After the referees talked to the Replay Center, they decided the contact did not meet the standard for a flagrant foul, and the report agrees with how it was called.
The other reports from Monday
The league published reports on four of Monday’s games. Charlotte’s 110-103 win over Washington was the only one with no errors.
| Game | Result | Errors in last two minutes | Favored |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timberwolves at Cavaliers | CLE 127-125 (OT) | 2 | Cavaliers 2 |
| Mavericks at Heat | DAL 113-109 | 3 | Mavericks 2, Heat 1 |
| Grizzlies at Jazz | MEM 110-105 | 1 | Grizzlies 1 |
| Wizards at Hornets | CHA 110-103 | 0 | — |
In Dallas’ 113-109 win in Miami, the report found two missed three-second calls in 12 seconds. With 1:30 left, Miami’s Pelle Larsson stayed in the paint too long without guarding anyone, which should have been a defensive three-second technical. With 1:18 left, Dallas’ Morez Johnson Jr. should have been called for a three-second violation on offense. The bigger miss came with 58.5 seconds left, when the report says P.J. Washington hit Giannis Antetokounmpo’s arm as he went up to shoot and no foul was called. Antetokounmpo had a triple-double, but Miami lost a fourth straight game to open the season.
In Memphis’ 110-105 win in Utah, the report says Zach Edey should have been called for a loose-ball foul with 20.3 seconds left for making contact with Mo Bamba’s head and neck as they went for a rebound.
How the reports work
The league reviews the last two minutes of every game that is within three points at any time in that stretch, plus overtime. It rates every whistle and the non-calls it considers important to a possession, and a play is only marked wrong when the video is clear. The reports cannot change a result, but they are the league’s public record of how the referees did in close finishes.
The first week of the season has already produced several, including the uncalled travel on a LaMelo Ball step-back three and three misses in Cleveland’s win over Brooklyn, which we covered with the latest flopping fines in our roundup of league discipline. Reports on Tuesday’s close games, including Boston’s 125-124 overtime win over Brooklyn, are due later on Wednesday. Follow every league-wide story on our Around the league page.
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