Was Ausar Thompson tripped by Jarrett Allen to end the fourth quarter?
The Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers had a controversial ending to regulation in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals of the 2026 NBA playoffs. The Pistons eventually lost in overtime, 117-113.
Thompson went for a loose ball near the sideline in the waning seconds, with the score tied at 103 after a 9-0 run by the Cavs on Wednesday, May 13, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
But Allen made contact to Thompson’s left foot, which twisted and caused him to trip over his right foot and fall. The ball bounced harmlessly out of bounds as the clock expired.
The Cavs were over the foul limit, and Thompson would have shot free throws with roughly one second left. Thompson made two free throws earlier in the period.
There appeared to be roughly 2 seconds left when the contact first occurred.
The play happened only after Thompson swatted down on Donovan Mitchell’s potential game-winning floater inside the foul line to send the game to overtime, with the series tied 2-2.
“Believe that’s a foul that should have been called on that trip [by Allen] on Ausar Thompson,” ESPN analyst and former NBA sharpshooter Tim Legler said after slow-motion replays.
“There was incidental contact with the legs with no player having possession of the ball,” crew chief Tony Brothers said in the postgame pool report. “The play will be reviewed by the league office tomorrow and it will be posted in the L2M [last two minutes report].”
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Was Ausar Thompson tripped by Jarrett Allen to end 4th? You decide
Reporting by Marlowe Alter, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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