National Basketball Association

A flood of replays in Game 2 of Clippers-Suns cause some to question replay's value

Updated Jun. 23, 2021 8:27 p.m. ET

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Replays were the name of the game Tuesday night. 

Game 2 between the LA Clippers and Phoenix Suns was riddled with replays, turning a long game into an even longer one. That had the sports world wondering if it’s time the NBA changes the way it officiates the end of games. 

Let’s set the scene. 

With 9.3 seconds left in the game, Clippers point guard Patrick Beverley swatted the ball loose from Suns star Devin Booker as he dribbled down the court. The officials awarded possession to Phoenix, which was immediately challenged by Beverley. After a video replay showed the ball just barely touching Booker’s fingers as it went out of bounds, the officials reversed the call. 

Another replay was initiated after Suns forward Mikal Bridges missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds left, and it was ruled that the Clippers knocked the ball out of bounds with 0.9 seconds left.

After multiple looks, the officiating crew decided that the Clippers’ Terance Mann was the last to touch the ball, and Phoenix was awarded possession.

The Suns didn’t have any timeouts left, but the extended review gave Phoenix plenty of time for coach Monty Williams and his team to come up with what became the game-winning play between Jae Crowder and Deandre Ayton.

In all, it took more than half an hour to play the final 90 seconds of the game, dragged out by five replay reviews and four timeouts. The last 8.4 seconds alone took seven minutes to play. 

On Wednesday's "Undisputed," Skip Bayless pointed out that while Crowder and Ayton's game-winning connection was a spectacular play, it came on the back of unnecessary continued replays and poor officiating. Bayless went as far as to refer to the game as "extended agony."

"I'm devastated by what I watched last night. It was as excruciating as any game I've ever watched," Bayless said flatly. "That was the greatest inbounds pass I’ve ever seen, but it was after the fact of the Clippers getting robbed.

"In my life of covering sports … I've never been more mystified, more baffled … over a review call than I was over what happened at the end. What baffled me the most was [ESPN] didn’t have an angle on it. … The [commentators] spent the whole extended review time talking about ‘What will Phoenix do?’ and I’m saying, ‘It’s not Phoenix’s ball!’ The ref called it Phoenix’s ball, but I think they went over, and they didn’t wanna overrule their call on the floor, and I don’t think they had a better angle to show exactly from the baseline view."

Skip Bayless reacts to the Clippers' last-second loss to the Suns in Game 2 of WCF | UNDISPUTED

Hear what Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe have to say about the officiating in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

For more up-to-date news on all things Suns, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app!

On Wednesday’s "The Herd," Colin Cowherd broke down why the revolving door of replays hurt the Clippers more than it helped them and why this type of situation ultimately hurts the league. 

"Reply was created, not for the first quarter, not for the second, not for the third, hell, it wasn't even created for the fourth. It was created to get the call right with two minutes left and not screw a team out of a championship … so we get the technicalities right very late in games … so this play drove me nuts," Cowherd said bluntly.

Colin Cowherd on the last 90 seconds of Game 2 for Suns & Clippers: 'This play drove me nuts!' ' THE HERD

Colin Cowherd was floored by the officiating in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals and wonders if instant replay harms the league.

For more up-to-date news on all things Clippers, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app!

On Wednesday's "First Things First," Nick Wright agreed with Cowherd, saying that for years there has been a problem with NBA instant replay.

"This is the sports talk equivalent of your house being on fire, and you are dealing with a leaky sink," Wright said. "The instant replay system in the NBA needs to be burned to the ground. … We just watched an epic Game 7 where I would argue the single biggest factor in who won Bucks-Nets in the overtime was fatigue. One guy [Kevin Durant] was totally spent. The other guy, Giannis [Antetokounmpo] had a little bit left. Do you think that game would have gone different if there had been 31 minutes of stoppages in the overtime, like there was in the final 90 seconds [Tuesday]? I do. That is altering the results.

"A brilliant play call and play design by Monty Williams. Did he have a timeout left? Of course not. But did he need one? Of course not. Why? Because [the officials] were reviewing something they had no need to review."

Nick Wright shares his biggest takeaway from Suns' GM 2 win over Clippers | FIRST THINGS FIRST

Nick Wright shares why he believes the instant replay system needs to be burned to the ground.

The Suns now have a 2-0 lead in the series and are riding a franchise-record nine-game playoff winning streak as they head to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4. The Clippers will look to come back from an 0-2 deficit for the third time in these playoffs after rallying to beat the Dallas Mavericks in the first round and Utah Jazz in the semifinals.

For more up-to-date news on all things NBA, click here to register for alerts on the FOX Sports app!

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National Basketball Association

LA Clippers

Phoenix Suns

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Jae Crowder

Deandre Ayton

Nick Wright

Skip Bayless

Colin Cowherd

The Herd with Colin Cowherd

First Things First

Skip and Shannon: Undisputed