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NBA two-minute report rules LeBron James should have been called for goaltend, other calls missed

The league report also ruled that the same possession should have gone to the Cavs.
Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

CLEVELAND -- Following the Cleveland Cavaliers' 98-95 Game 5 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night, Victor Oladipo stated that he believed LeBron James should have been called for what would have been a critical goaltend in the closing seconds of the contest.

As it turns out, the NBA agreed. Releasing the two-minute report, which chronicles and grades the calls made in the final two minutes of each game, the league said the Cavs star forward should have been called for a goaltend, which would have given the Pacers a 97-95 lead with three seconds left on the clock.

According to the same report, however, the circumstances leading to Indiana's final possession should have been much different.

On the play prior to his block/goaltend, it was ruled that James had fumbled the ball out of bounds, leading to a Pacers possession. But per the two-minute report, the ball actually bounced off of Indiana forward Thaddeus Young, meaning that the Cavs should have maintained possession with 26 seconds left in regulation and 17 seconds left on the shot clock.

In essence, both of the refs' missed calls appeared to cancel each other out, proving to be a pair of moot points en route to James' game-winning buzzer-beater 3-point shot. The victory gave Cleveland a 3-2 series lead in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals and the opportunity to close the Pacers out in Game 6 in Indianapolis on Friday night.

Tip-off from Bankers Life Fieldhouse is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.

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