Blazers issue protest over controversial call, contest result vs. Thunder / News - Basketnews.com

Portland Trail Blazers are filing a protest after a controversial double-dribble call, Chauncey Billups' ejection, and subsequent technical fouls altered the outcome of their 111-109 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Credit: AP - Scanpix Credit AP - Scanpix

Portland Trail Blazers are set to file a protest with the league office challenging the outcome of their 111-109 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, as reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Player of the Game EFF 30 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Points 33 Accuracy 10-24 Rebounds 6 Assists 10

The controversial moment occurred when, holding a slim 109-108 lead, Portland argues that head coach Chauncey Billups was in the process of calling a timeout just before a double-dribble violation was called against the Blazers with 15.6 seconds left.

In attempting to rescue the situation, Billups received two technical fouls and was ejected from the game.

The critical double-dribble call was against Malcolm Brogdon as he brought the ball up the court. Billups, attempting to call a timeout for strategic reasons, used words instead of clear gestures.

The situation escalated when Brogdon was penalized, leading to a heated reaction from Billups, who made physical contact with an official and received two technical fouls, resulting in his ejection.

Crucially, this sequence gave the Thunder the ball and two technical foul shots. Although they only made one of the two free throws, it was sufficient to tie the score at 109, with 16 seconds remaining.

In the subsequent possession, Jalen Williams made a jumper with 2 seconds on the clock, giving OKC a 111-109 lead.

Portland then had one final possession, attempting to inbound the ball to Deandre Ayton for a potential game-tying play. However, the lob pass was underthrown, resulting in a steal, and the game concluded with the score remaining at 111-109.

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