Referees Say Ray Allen Didn’t Travel on Game 6 Three-Pointer


Sorry, Rick Barry. Ray Allen did not commit a travelling violation on his legendary three to force overtime in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals. So say the officiating experts. Per ESPN: “This week, the NBA referees are having their annual preseason conference at a hotel outside New York City. This is an intricate event. Plays from last season are broken down frame-by-frame, and they analyze positioning and obscure scenarios. Fans probably wouldn’t believe the level of detail that goes into this job. On Thursday, the league invited some members of the media to look at some of the work the officials have been doing and discuss minor rule changes and adjustments. One thing that came up was Allen’s huge shot. Was it or wasn’t it a travel? The answer from the best in the world was definitive: No. Barry and others feel that Allen took three steps, one more than allotted, before shooting the ball. Looking at it frame-by-frame, indeed there is some gray area there. Under league rules, a player is permitted two steps after the ‘gather.’ The subjective issue is the gather. Allen was moving backward and it appears when his hand first touched Bosh’s pass, Allen had a foot on the ground. However, under the officials’ judgment, Allen did not have possession and had not completed the ‘gather’ when that occurred. Once Allen had corralled the ball, he did indeed take another one step back behind the 3-point line and then his last step to position himself to shoot before letting the ball go. Gather while moving back, then two steps, then the shot, officials say. This opinion will probably not sway Barry and his supporters on the matter. Barry’s point has been that Allen gathered and then took three steps. […] The ‘gather’ is arguable and will be forever. But the experts in the field, and three of them were working the game that night, say it was clean.”