National Basketball Association

Bulls stun Celtics after controversial foul results in winning free throws

Published Feb. 16, 2017 11:24 p.m. ET

Rob Perez

The "unwritten rules" of basketball suffered a serious defeat at United Center on Thursday night, when the Chicago Bulls defeated the Boston Celtics 104-103 in controversial fashion. Bulls star Jimmy Butler was awarded two free throws, with less than a second remaining, after his elbow was grazed by Marcus Smart during his buzzer-beating attempt.

https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/832429727356837891

Let's take a closer look:

https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/832430885160968193

If you pause the replay at the right second, it does appear that Smart did just get a piece of the elbow:

...and that technically constitutes a foul under the rules of basketball, in which Butler stepped to the line and made both free throws:

https://twitter.com/chicagobulls/status/832431871313268737

but, that is a tough call to make with the game on the line.

Let 'em play or make the call? Basketball's never-ending argument continues.