𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

PHILADELPHIA – The NBA’s last two minute report for the game between the Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets is going to be a mess.

For the record, the 76ers defeated the Rockets 128-122 in an overtime thriller. Tyrese Maxey scored 36 to go along with 10 assists, while Joel Embiid had a 32-point triple double.

But the game probably should have been over in regulation. On the final possession, Maxey drove by Houston guard Amen Thompson and laid the ball off the glass. Rockets star Kevin Durant came over and appeared to block the shot. Upon replay, however, Durant made contact with the ball after it hit the glass, which means it should have been a goaltend.

Refs did NOT call goaltending on Tyrese Maxey’s potential game winner 😳

KD’s block forces OT pic.twitter.com/AodCSNmNoO

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 23, 2026

While the NBA has an automated review system that is supposed to rule on goaltends, it is only triggered in situations where a call is made by the officials. In this case, because the three-man referee crew of John Goble, Nick Buchert and CJ Washington did not blow the whistle, they could not review to ensure their decision was made correctly.

“Look, they are supposed to call those,” 76ers coach Nick Nurse said. “If it is even close, they are supposed to call those and then go and review and get the play right. They should have called it in order to get the play right.”

That was the first miss on that play by the officiating crew. After the rebound, Houston was awarded a timeout even though it didn’t have complete possession of the ball. Had the play rightfully been allowed to play out, Sixers rookie VJ Edgecombe would have had an open 3-point look for the game. Instead, the officials went to the monitor and ruled an inadvertent whistle, which meant a jump ball at midcourt with 1.3 seconds left.

That’s how we got to overtime.

“I don’t always have the greatest view all the time, but I think Tyrese tried to get the ball to the backboard extra quickly,” Nurse said.

The Sixers were able to take control in overtime and win, thanks to timely shots from Paul George, Maxey imposing his will on the game and strong defense spearheaded by George and Edgecombe. Philadelphia moves to 24-19 on the season, while Houston drops to 26-16.

Ironically, it may have served Houston better if the play was called correctly on the floor. Had that happened, the Rockets would have had three seconds and a timeout remaining in order to set up a play to tie or even win the game.

Instead, the 76ers regrouped and got a much-needed victory, arguably their best win of the year. They erased a nine-point deficit in the final five minutes of regulation, then shook off the disappointment of the non-call to outplay Houston in overtime.

“I said during one of the timeouts that we played really well to that point,” Nurse said. “I told the guys that we have to execute the offense and keep looking for great shots. We had just missed a few shots, and they hit some bombs. We just needed to keep playing and keep executing from possession to possession.”