Oklahoma City's Kendrick Perkins was improperly credited with a key basket that gave the Thunder the lead for good in a 107-103 playoff victory over Denver, the NBA said Monday.
Perkins tipped-in a Russell Westbrook miss with 65 seconds remaining on Sunday that put Oklahoma City ahead 102-101. Denver players and coach George Karl appealed in vain for a goaltending call that never came.
The league said Monday that the basket should have been waved off.
"Kendrick Perkins was improperly credited with a basket that should have been ruled offensive basket interference with 1:05 remaining in last night?s game," the statement read.
"Although a player is permitted to touch the net while the ball is in the cylinder above the rim, Perkins also touched the ball while it was still in the cylinder which is a violation and constitutes goaltending."
While the Nuggets gain a measure of satisfaction, it's all they have. The Thunder still lead the best-of-seven Western Conference first round series against Denver one game to none