Utah Jazz: Official says no foul on Paul George non-call

One Game 6 official defends his crew’s controversial non-call that some say led to the Utah Jazz’s close-out win over OKC.

There were a litany of recurring themes throughout the Utah Jazz’s first-round series with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Stifling defense, epic scoring runs, Russell Westbrook going beast mode and Donovan Mitchell doing things not seen since Wilt the Stilt and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar immediately come to mind.

In the end, though, it was unpredictably the officiating that dominated fan discussion. And that continued to be the case after Utah’s close-out win on Friday night thanks to a controversial no-call.

However, one member of the Game 6’s referee crew says there’s no controversy to speak of.

Let’s rewind. The play in question came during the game’s closing seconds with the Jazz leading by three. OKC star Paul George received the ball and got a screen from Steven Adams, freeing him up for a good look from 3-point range. Utah’s Rudy Gobert attempted to recover, leaving his feet to contest the shot, at which point George jumped into the Stifle Tower to draw the foul.

But no foul was called and the Jazz ultimately hung on for the win.

After the game, referee Ron Garretson — a veteran of 30-plus seasons with the whistle — defended his crew’s interpretation of the action.

Said Garretson —

"“Rudy Gobert jumped to the right of Paul George. Our determination was Rudy would not have made contact with Paul had he not jumped sideways into Gobert’s legal space. We determined this to be a non-call.”"

Here’s another look at the non-call in question —

My take on this is twofold. First — I’m still shocked that a foul wasn’t called on Gobert in that situation. Similar plays happen with great regularity in the Association and, more often than not, the defensive player receives a foul regardless of whether or not the offensive player jumps to the side.

Consistency from the officials should be considered crucial to the integrity of the game. It should never be a guessing game for the players. And the no-call here comes across as inconsistent.

Having said that, Garretson’s assessment of the play rings true. George made an unnatural, sideways maneuver trying to force a call. Was it the most egregious example of foul baiting I’ve seen? No, but once Gobert was in the air, all pretense of actually making a shot had vanished and George had to jump to his side to draw contact.

Next: Utah Jazz: Mitchell outduels Westbrook in close-out win

In any event, one call (or the lack thereof) doesn’t determine a series. OKC simply didn’t do enough to win on Friday. Just as the Jazz didn’t do enough during Game 5 when fans in Utah were squawking about the whistle.

Nevertheless, it’s unfortunate to see a great series end in controversy.