James Harden Travelled Egregiously Before Dishing Game-Winning Assist vs Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves lost their 2nd-straight game of the season on Sunday, dropping them into 2nd place in the Western Conference. Should Wolves fans be concerned? Probably not. Anthony Edwards missed the 2nd half of their first loss (Friday) for the birth of his child, and their 88-89 loss today vs the Los Angeles Clippers should be under review, if that were a thing.

Why? Well, no game comes down to one play. But it is worth noting that the game-winning Clippers basket, which came with two minutes left to play in the 4th quarter, was on a James Harden assisted Kawhi Leonard layup in which Harden committed possibly the most egregious non-call travel in NBA history, which is saying something.

James Harden travels on play that beats Minnesota Timberwolves

On the play, Harden catches the ball at the top of the key, where he proceeds to take, count them – SIX STEPS before he tosses the admittedly beautiful bounce pass that put LA up two points, a lead they wouldn’t surrender.

This is actually crazy lmao 😭 pic.twitter.com/OHTsQQ9fBW

— Ethical Hoops🏆 (only takes Ws) (@EthicalHoopz) March 4, 2024

Karl-Anthony Towns couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn and the Wolves, in general, were cold from deep most of the night. That is not a recipe for winning NBA games in 2024. So nobody is blaming referees for the Wolves’ L today.

Related: Minnesota Timberwolves Sign T.J. Warren to 10-Day Contract: Does This Impact Marcus Morris?

Nonetheless, these refs need to be held accountable at some point. How do you not call this travel? If you give me 30 minutes, I could teach my 12-year-old daughter (who has no idea what “travel” means outside of getting in an airplane) what a basketball travel is and she would be able to point this out in real time.

How an NBA referee missed it is beyond me. The Minnesota Timberwolves will play the 2nd half of a back-to-back on Monday night vs the awful Portland Trail Blazers. The perfect slumpbuster.