{"id":170084,"date":"2025-12-17T14:30:53","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T19:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=170084"},"modified":"2025-12-17T14:30:53","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T19:30:53","slug":"rockets-nuggets-l2m-report-ref-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/12\/17\/rockets-nuggets-l2m-report-ref-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Rockets-Nuggets L2M Report: Do Rockets Have A Ref Problem?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/official.nba.com\/l2m\/L2MReport.html?gameId=0022501225\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Last Two Minutes Report<\/a> on the officiating of the Denver-Houston clash has been released. The report acknowledges some unfortunate refereeing errors that disadvantaged the Rockets down the stretch. The outcome of one game isn\u2019t something for the team or fans to dwell on. But the Rockets may have a serious issue with the way the refs officiate the game&#8212;and the same may go for other teams.<\/p>\n<h2>Rockets-Nuggets L2M Report: Do Rockets Have A Ref Problem?<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/game\/hou-vs-den-0022501225\/box-score\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Monday night<\/a>&#8216;s Rockets-Nuggets game should have been a big win for the NBA. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/sengual01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alperen Sengun<\/a>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jokicni01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikola Jokic<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/11\/20\/the-nba-cup-brings-you-jokic-versus-sengun\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">showdown fans had been hoping for<\/a> was on full display. However, the league&#8217;s first 30-point triple-doubles <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/realapp\/status\/2000806046751973465\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">by opposing centers<\/a> were overshadowed by the officiating.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"EPIC DUEL: \u015eeng\u00fcn (33 PTS, 10 AST &amp; 10 REB) &amp; Joki\u0107&#039;s (39 PTS, 15 REB &amp; 10 AST) | December 15, 2025\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LYN0LCNvt6g?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Rockets head coach <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/12\/16\/udoka-slams-officiating-rockets-nuggets-controversial-finish\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Ime Udoka\u2019s criticism of the officiating<\/a> after the 128-125 loss to Denver was well-publicized. He called it the \u201c[most] poorly officiated game I\u2019ve seen in a long time.\u201d His fine will likely be elevated by the targeted nature of his criticisms towards the individual referees.<\/p>\n<p>Most of what Udoka said was pretty much what you\u2019d expect from a coach sulking over a loss in a clumsily officiated game. But the Last Two Minutes Report (which also covers overtime) does lend some credence to his plight.<\/p>\n<h3>The L2M Report<\/h3>\n<p>The L2M report acknowledges three incorrect calls\/no calls down the stretch. Coming as a surprise to some, the controversial defensive foul on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/t\/thompam01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Amen Thompson<\/a> with 2.3 seconds left in regulation was not among them. While possibly an unusual call for the situation, a largely unbroadcast camera angle <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/yXRweWog9bw?t=150\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">did reveal contact<\/a>. Even so, all three incorrect calls\/no calls benefited Denver. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hardati02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tim Hardaway Jr.<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/official.nba.com\/last-two-minute-report\/?gameNo=0022501225&amp;eventNum=2217\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">fouled<\/a> Sengun on an offensive rebound.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duranke01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Durant<\/a> got a <a href=\"https:\/\/official.nba.com\/last-two-minute-report\/?gameNo=0022501225&amp;eventNum=2213\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">clean block<\/a> on Jokic. And Thompson <a href=\"https:\/\/official.nba.com\/last-two-minute-report\/?gameNo=0022501225&amp;eventNum=2219\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">did not, in fact, foul<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/murraja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jamal Murray<\/a> with 47.2 seconds remaining.<\/p>\n<p>Now, to be clear, there&#8217;s no reason to think NBA officials have an interest in making Houston lose. Games aren\u2019t being rigged on some grand, Machiavellian scale. The fact is that all 30 teams in the NBA are vulnerable to the inconsistent and untargeted whims of the referees. Some teams will hope for a high degree of physicality to be allowed. Some teams will hope for a low one. Houston might just happen to be the most physicality-favoring team in the association.<\/p>\n<h3>What Udoka Also Said<\/h3>\n<p>There\u2019s another part of Udoka\u2019s comments that sheds more light on <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/11\/29\/houston-rockets-defense-and-the-nbas-rising-foul-rate\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Houston&#8217;s particular vulnerability to fouls<\/a>. When asked about the team\u2019s response to inconsistent refereeing, <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SportsVanessa\/status\/2000806406698754095\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Udoka said<\/a>, \u201cKeep being who we are. We\u2019re not going to adjust to poor officials. We\u2019re going to do what we do, and hopefully <em>they<\/em> can adjust and call it the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This mantra has served the Rockets\u2019 defense well since Udoka took over in 2023. It\u2019s an ultra-physical brand of \u201ccan\u2019t call everything\u201d basketball. A whole team of basketball super freaks on a mandated course of habitual line-stepping. Innovative organizations like the Rockets are always looking for an edge. They, and other teams, currently seem to believe that the edge can most efficiently be found by pushing officiating to its breaking point.<\/p>\n<h3>Not Just the Rockets<\/h3>\n<p>Something very similar has served the NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder even better. OKC snagged a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/11\/11\/shai-gilgeous-alexander-top-mvp-candidate-so-far\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">generational scorer and MVP<\/a>\u00a0from the dysfunctional Clippers in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/georgpa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul George<\/a> deal. After only two years of tanking, they were able to draft the analytics Holy Grail of a rim-protecting stretch big in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/holmgch01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chet Holmgren<\/a>. They have exceptional depth on the wing, led by wingspan king <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/willija06.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jalen Williams<\/a>. A huge part of their outlier success, however, comes down to an extreme organizational commitment to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/nba\/comments\/1pm27n7\/nba_on_prime_steve_nash_says_that_okc_has\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">gaming the referees<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>OKC\u2019s defensive system has already resulted in a championship. Maybe Houston\u2019s could, too\u2026 but it\u2019s going to be up to the referees. How individual playoff games are called has an egregious level of impact on the outcome. While that\u2019s always been the case, NBA teams are now starting to lean into the phenomenon, making it even more extreme. It\u2019s not the referees\u2019 fault. They\u2019re deliberately being put in impossible situations. It\u2019s not the teams\u2019 fault. They\u2019re merely optimizing their chance to win. But it is the product for the fans that falls short as a result.<\/p>\n<h3>The Last Word<\/h3>\n<p>NBA officiating is in crisis. Teams across the league are currently racing to see who can bend it furthest before it breaks. But maybe it\u2019s already broken. The Rockets have a ref problem all right, and the whole NBA does, too.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Last Two Minutes Report on the officiating of the Denver-Houston clash has been released. The report acknowledges some unfortunate refereeing errors that disadvantaged the Rockets down the stretch. The outcome of one game isn\u2019t something for the team or fans to dwell on. But the Rockets may have a serious issue with the way [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5223,"featured_media":169933,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,20,31,62],"tags":[4293,3821,72],"class_list":["post-170084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nuggets","category-rockets","category-nba","tag-alperen-sengun","tag-ime-udoka","tag-nikola-jokic"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5223"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=170084"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":170093,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/170084\/revisions\/170093"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=170084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=170084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=170084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}