Sorry, Celtics: The NBA Says the Marcus Smart Foul on Jimmy Butler Was the Right Call

Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas was heated after "a horrible call" in a loss to the Chicago Bulls. But the NBA stands by the call.

marcus smart celtics fouls jimmy butler bulls
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Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics fouls Jimmy Butler #21 of the Chicago Bulls in the closing second at the United Center on Feb. 16 in Chicago. The Bulls defeated the Celtics 104-103.

marcus smart celtics fouls jimmy butler bulls

The Celtics hit the court for their first game after All-Star Break on Friday night, playing the only other team in the East not featuring LeBron James that fans are checking for. We know it's ancient history in NBA time, but you have to imagine they'll play with some extra heat as they try to avenge themselves after a controversial loss to the Bulls on Feb. 16. It was mad shaky not just for the fact that a foul was called with like 8 seconds left, which let the Bulls take the lead, but also because it left a visibly upset Isaiah Thomas declaring, "A bad call cost us the game."

You remember the call, right? Here's the scene:

There's 8.4 seconds left, the score is 103-102 (Boston). The Bulls inbound the ball, Jimmy Butler attempts a potential game-winning jump shot over Boston’s Marcus Smart. He misses! Time runs out. The Celtics celebrate! And then, the refs call a foul. Smart tapped Butler's elbow, they say. The Celtics, stunned, look around like, WTF are you even serious? 

After review, 0.9 seconds are put back on the clock. Butler hits both free throws, giving the Bulls the lead. They squeeze in two timeouts, Smart lobs the ball to Al Horford, and his shot from the left corner doesn't even touch the rim. Good night, curtains close, Celtics lose. See for yourself:

View this video on YouTube

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Look again. Do you see contact??? 

marcus smart celtics fouls jimmy butler bulls

"We won this game," Thomas said after the fact. "We had it won. A great defensive stop by Marcus Smart, and the referee called a horrible call. That was bad." Turns out, though, the NBA is sticking by the call. For almost two years now, the league has been checking itself with the Last Two Minute Report, which keeps track of the officiating of the last two minutes of close games. This self-policing effort has determined that the league gets it wrong about 10% of the time (but this call the Celtics felt cost them the game ain't in that number). 

According to analysis by The Pudding

Since March 2015, the NBA has reviewed 13,540 plays from 865 games. In those 2,650 minutes of action, the officials have missed or incorrectly called 1,400 plays, or about 10.3% of all calls reviewed. This amounts to 1.62 wrong decisions in the final minutes of each close game.

You can see in the chart below that the league reviewed its decision on the Marcus Smart foul and determined it was indeed a CC—correct call.

Two Minute Report Boston vs Bulls

 

The Last Two Minute Report is updated every day, so all you armchair referees can look back on the calls you thought were BS and see if you were right. Not that it matters—the league might admit incorrect calls, but they won't turn back time.

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