RandBall: Wait, a Minnesota team benefited from a missed call in a big game?

In the context of how you would want big moments in a big game decided, one could argue (perhaps more strenuously if you’re a Wolves fan) that the on-court officials got it right in two critical moments down the stretch Sunday.

The first: Jaden McDaniels and Luka Doncic got their feet tangled as Doncic brought the ball up the court in the final minute with the Lakers trailing by one. Luka fell to the ground and called timeout. Los Angeles still had possession and a chance to take the lead, but the Lakers turned it over on the inbound pass.

That led to the second moment: Anthony Edwards drove to the basket on the ensuing possession and was stripped of the ball by LeBron James. Originally it was ruled out of bounds off Ant, Lakers ball. Upon further review, LeBron was shown to have hacked Edwards on the wrist. Two free throws later, the Wolves had a three-point lead that held up as the final margin.

By the strict letter of the law (or at least rulebook), however, we now know that this much is true: The Wolves got a break, which I talked about on Tuesday’s Daily Delivery podcast.

The NBA releases reports on the final two minutes of every game. In its report on Game 4, the league said Monday that a foul should have been called on McDaniels for "initiating illegal foot contact that causes (Doncic) to lose his balance."

One person’s “initiating illegal foot contact” is another’s “extremely tired all-time complaining player tripped over someone’s foot,” but the report is what it is.

Had a foul been called, Luka would have gone to the line for two free throws with the Lakers down one. It would have been a fairly cheap two points, but it’s a good guess that Doncic would have made both free throws, and there’s a pretty decent chance the Lakers would have won and tied the series.

There is also the recognition that Minnesota fans don’t quite know what to make of this gift, seeing as how you could wallpaper a Lake Minnetonka home with equivalent “we messed up” reports on plays or rules that went against Minnesota teams.

It was a year ago, in fact, when McDaniels was on the wrong end of a call that impacted a critical game involving Luka and the Mavericks. Referees overturned a call and said the ball went off McDaniels’ hand in a critical moment, prompting an offseason rule change that now permits referees to call a foul upon review.

The Wolves still had ample opportunity to win that game, just as the Lakers did Sunday. But Luka buried a three over Rudy Gobert, the Wolves lost, and the series momentum switched undeniably in what became a five-game Mavericks win.

The Lakers could have executed an inbound pass and scored to take the lead. Failing that, they could have stopped the Wolves without fouling on the next possession (and yes, LeBron, it was a foul. The NBA also confirmed that with its two-minute report). Failing that, Austin Reaves could have shot his corner three six inches shorter and sent the game to overtime, giving coach J.J. Redick a chance to play his five guys 29 minutes straight instead of just 24.

But instead, the Wolves caught a break and made some of their own luck, too.