The New Orleans Pelicans’ 2022-23 season ended with a loud thud Wednesday evening, as they were bested by the Oklahoma City Thunder 123-118. The final score alone indicates that this Play-In bout was tightly contested till the end, but, by watching the game, one will know that the outcome was a Brandon Ingram-favored foul call away from completely changing its course.
With less than six seconds remaining in regulation, the star wing hoisted up a clutch triple to cut NOLA’s deficit down to just one at 119-118. Though the shot was converted, Ingram was outwardly furious with the officiating crew for not calling a foul on what he believed to be contact in the act of shooting initiated by defending Thunder guard Lu Dort.
Brandon Ingram was looking for a foul call on this shot late in the game.
A four-point play would’ve tied the game pic.twitter.com/DnaHaB8JQT
— ESPN (@espn) April 13, 2023
Alas, no whistle was blown and the Pelicans fell short of their hard-fought comeback, but the controversial no-call proved to be quite a hot topic from then on out.
During his post-game media session, Brandon Ingram was asked point-blank if his elbow was “grazed” by Dort. In response, whilst half-smirking, he provided his perspective on the situation.
“He touched my elbow but it wasn’t called,” Ingram said. “[The refs] let a lot of stuff go tonight. It’s expected in the Play-In game but I thought he got me”
Brandon Ingram would continue on by saying “you have to do a little extra to get a foul called nowadays,” and suggested that had he reacted more animatedly than he did, then perhaps he would have had an easier time getting a whistle blown.
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