NBA: Russell Westbrook should have been called for traveling late in Thunder’s win over Warriors

Oklahoma City benefited from another missed call by the officials late in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against Golden State on Monday night.

We’re not saying a traveling call on Russell Westbrook with 17.2 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter definitely would have changed the result -- a 108-102 Thunder win -- but it would have given the Warriors a better chance.

With Oklahoma City leading, 105-102, Westbrook attempted to call timeout under heavy defensive pressure from Golden State’s Klay Thompson. Westbrook was granted the timeout, but replays showed he dragged his pivot foot and should have been called for traveling.

“The officials are thinking possibly that Thompson might want to take a foul, so they’re focusing a lot on Thompson,” Joe Borgia, the NBA’s senior vice president of replay and referee operations, said after the game on NBA TV. “Then all of a sudden Westbrook just pulls up. The officials, no one could get in a good position to see him drag that pivot foot.”

Had the violation been called, the Warriors would have gained possession of the ball with plenty of time left on the clock. Instead, they were forced to foul Westbrook, who essentially sealed the Thunder win by making one of two free throws.

“I thought he walked, but it wasn’t called, so that’s the way it goes,” Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said after the game.

Borgia said: “It’s an unfortunate miss, but so much going on in the play and the speed of it. Officiating is about getting angles and sometimes you just can’t get them. They did not get a great angle on that play.”

Last week, the NBA said its officials missed two calls in the final minute of Game 5 of the playoff series between the Thunder and San Antonio. Both calls would have benefited the Spurs, who lost that game, 95-91.

Also, after Game 2 of that series, the league said five fouls were missed during a chaotic final 13.5 seconds. One would have sent San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge to the line with 2.6 seconds remaining in the 98-97 Oklahoma City victory.