NBA Playoff game 2011 Nuggets vs. Thunder Game 1
Written By: Stephanie Santa Maria
With 1:20 left in the fourth quarter, the Denver Nuggets held a one-point lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder, 101-100.
Russell Westbrook dribbled the ball to half court on the right wing and passed to Kevin Durant on the left wing. Durant took a dribble back toward Westbrook and passed the ball back to him.
Westbrook then drove toward the basket against Raymond Felton before quickly stopping, pivoting with a ball fake and forcing up a tough, off-balanced shot.
The ball first bounced on the front of the rim, then the glass and as it was on its way to bouncing out of the “cylinder,” Thunder player Kendrick Perkins reached his right hand up through the net to tip the ball back down for a two-point basket.
By rule, this should have been called goaltending. There should have been no basket and the play waived off, thus the Nuggets still having a one-point lead with the ball and close to 55 seconds left in the game.
This play made Westbrook reach the 30-point mark on the night and more importantly, it gave the Oklahoma City Thunder a 102-101 lead with under a minute left in the game.
