NBA fans who watched Tuesday’s nationally televised game between the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder would be forgiven if they revisited Chris Webber’s famous attempt to call a timeout he didn’t have during a critical sequence of the 1993 NCAA men’s tournament championship game.
With the score tied at 115 in overtime, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander saw a mid-range jumper blocked by Houston’s Tari Eason and rebounded by Kevin Durant with 2.2 seconds remaining.
Durant tried to call a timeout.
There was only one problem: Houston was out of timeouts and the Rockets should have been penalized for that.
The 2025-26 NBA Official Rules address this specific situation in Rule #12 – Fouls and Penalties. The rule reads: “Requests for timeouts beyond the allowed number shall be granted and a technical foul shall be assessed. After the timeout and the free throw attempt, the ball shall be awarded to the team that shot the free throw, and play shall be resumed with a throw-in closest to where play was interrupted.”
Translation: Houston should have been whistled for a technical foul, resulting in a foul shot for Oklahoma City and possession of the ball.
But none of the three officials consisting of crew chief Zach Zarba, referee Eric Dalen and referee Jason Goldenberg called a technical problem. Time running out in the first overtime led to a second overtime.
The Thunder players and coach Mark Daigneault, incredulous, argued for no appeal, in vain.
“Kevin definitely called a timeout about three times, verbally and physically with his hands,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I think the referees just missed it. But that’s life. You make mistakes in life and you move on.”
So why didn’t the Rockets commit a technical foul?
“None of the three game officials saw Kevin signal that timeout. That’s why it wasn’t called before time expired,” Zarba said in a brief postgame interview.
In the end, the non-call didn’t hurt Oklahoma City too much. The Thunder won 125-124 in double overtime when Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. missed a highly contested jumper from the left corner that he launched just before time expired.
The whole situation is reminiscent of the 1993 NCAA men’s tournament final between Webber’s Michigan Wolverines and the North Carolina Tar Heels. With Michigan leading 73-71 late in the second half, Webber dribbled the ball into the North Carolina defensive end, resumed his dribble and called a timeout which Michigan did not have. Michigan was called for a costly technical foul with 11 seconds left, and North Carolina ended up winning 77-71.
Tuesday’s season opener between Houston and Oklahoma City featured plenty of thrills and a hint of controversy that will be difficult to overcome during the 2025-26 NBA regular season.
