The Thunder came away with a dramatic 139-127 overtime win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, but it might not have happened if it wasn’t for Chris Paul’s watchful eye.
The Timberwolves were clinging onto a 121-119 lead with just over one second remaining in the game and Karl-Anthony Towns at the free throw line. As Jordan Bell checked in for Minnesota, Chris Paul noticed his jersey was untucked and promptly alerted the ref.
"His jersey's untucked!" -CP3
Jordan Bell was called for a delay of game for checking in with an untucked jersey…
Wolves ended up losing the game in OT pic.twitter.com/9I9PINGH11
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 7, 2019
NBA rules state that if a player’s “shirt is untucked when he is beckoned into the game by the official, a delay of game violation shall be assessed.”
As per the rules, the ref called the violation on Bell. Since it was Minnesota’s second delay of game on the night, OKC was given a free throw. They were later able to tie the game and force OT on a Dennis Schroeder buzzer beater, which set them up to take control of the game and take the win.
“That happens more often than not, and sometimes refs will just be like, ‘whatever,’ but that is the rule,” Paul told members of the media after the game. “If you check in with your jersey untucked, it’s a delay of game.”
Although the violation is rarely called, this game can be credited to Paul’s alertness.
