The End Of Wolves-Raptors Exposed A Weird Quirk In the NBA Rules

The Minnesota Timberwolves endured the longest 0.4 seconds in the history of time before beating the Toronto Raptors, 128-126, at Target Center on Thursday night. Toronto led for most of the game, but the Wolves mounted a comeback and took a lead on two D'Angelo Russell free throws.

Then, bedlam.

Raptors coach Nick Nurse took his second-to-last timeout, and Taurean Prince substituted in for Russell. Toronto inbounds and Pascal Siakam races down the court with less than ten seconds left, dishes the ball to OG Anunoby, who misses a wide-open corner three to win the game.

Ballgame, right?

Not so fast.

The ball falls out of bounds at roughly the same time the buzzer sounds. The officials review the tape, give the Wolves the ball, and put 0.4 seconds left on the clock. Let's let Chris Finch take it from there:

To recap: Finch called a timeout to advance the ball, not to score, but to reduce the likelihood that Minnesota turns the ball over and the Raptors score a quick bucket. However, he only had one timeout left at the end of the game. By taking it to advance the ball, he lost the option to call a timeout to avoid a five-second call -- and therefore, a turnover.

The NBA does not allow coaches on opposing teams to call back-to-back timeouts in the interest of speed of play. However, Nurse didn't call timeout to discuss strategy; he wanted to challenge the call. It's a tricky situation that could have put Minnesota at a disadvantage and caused the game to drag on -- two things no fan wants to see.