Warriors’ Jordan Poole has theatrical reaction to possible goaltend ABC refuses to show replay of
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Jordan Poole #3 of the Golden State Warriors celebrates a three pointer against the Boston Celtics during the second quarter in Game Six of the 2022 NBA Finals at TD Garden on June 16, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. N
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Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole, like many fans watching at home, thought Boston Celtics center Robert Williams should have been called for goaltending at the end of the second quarter of Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Thursday.
Poole’s Warriors teammate Draymond Green threw up a quick floater as time was expiring, only for it to be swatted away by Williams, seemingly as the ball was coming down. Green, Poole, as well as nearby teammates Andrew Wiggins and Otto Porter Jr. all signaled that the play was a goaltend and should have been reviewed (such referee-initiated reviews can only happen at the end of the fourth quarter).
After time expired and individuals on the court began heading back to the locker room, Poole briefly conversed with official Zach Zarba. It’s unclear what Zarba said to the third-year Warrior, but whatever it was, Poole reacted quite strongly to it.
As for whether the Williams block was actually a goaltend? No one really knows because ABC never provided a proper slow-motion replay of it. The network quickly cut away to move to its halftime show, and did not show a replay then or when third quarter play resumed.
For the untrained eye, it certainly looks like the ball might have been on its way down. But again, there was no reply to confirm it one way or the other. In any case, the Warriors held a 15-point lead at halftime and maintained a big advantage in the third quarter, so few were legitimately splitting hairs over the sequence.
Eric Ting is SFGATE’s politics editor. He is an East Bay native who has a Master’s degree in journalism from Stanford University. Eric did his undergrad at Pomona College, where he majored in politics and minored in economics. Email: eric.ting@sfgate.com