The OKC Thunder pulled off a hard-fought 120-114 win over the Indiana Pacers on the road in the Gainbridge Field House, but this close contest had a major referee blooper to start the all-important fourth quarter.
OKC had to inbound the ball for the fourth quarter but the referees had them start the quarter from the wrong side of the court, which led to confused reactions from everyone when ball-handler Ajay Mitchell ran to his rim and laid the ball up as the referees called off the play.
Refs gave Thunder the ball on the wrong side of the floor to start 4Q 😅 pic.twitter.com/LKDOjMpVK1
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 27, 2024
The clock was reset and the quarter was started correctly, but this was a hilarious goof-up which even the coaches and players looked stunned by. Naturally, Mitchell’s layup didn’t count and the teams had to start the fourth quarter again, where the rookie still scored the first basket of the period with a layup…