NBA admits missing Russell Westbrook violation

With less than 20 seconds left on a pivotal possession for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Steve Kerr knelt on the floor a few feet away from the action and mouthed the words "That's a travel."

Instead, referees awarded a timeout to the visiting team.

The Golden State Warriors head coach was right, according to NBA senior vice president of replay and referee operations Joe Borgia: Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook lifted his pivot foot and dragged it forward with a 103-100 lead.

Referee Monty McCutchen awarded Westbrook a timeout with 17.2 seconds remaining.

Coming out of the timeout, Westbrook was fouled and hit two free throws to push the Thunder edge to five.

"The officials, no one could get in a good position to see him drag that pivot foot," Borgia said in a postgame interview on NBA TV. "It's an unfortunate miss, but so much going on in the play, the speed of it, and officiating is about getting angles and sometimes you just can't get them, and they did not get a great angle on that play."