Something strange happened early in the fourth quarter of Friday’s Game 3 between the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves. With around eight-and-a-half minutes to play in the final frame, Rui Hachimura lost the ball. It was picked up by Jaden McDaniels, who raced down the floor hoping for a transition dunk. Luka Dončić immediately took chase, looking to make a play and get the stop.
This was one of the most important plays of the game. The Timberwolves led by four at the time. A big transition score would have livened up the crowd. A stop would have given the Lakers momentum toward a comeback. Dončić started the play a step or two ahead of McDaniels. Yet, suddenly, he just stopped.
McDaniels dunked. Minnesota pushed the lead back up to six. The Timberwolves won.
So, what happened here? We found out a few minutes later, when an angry JJ Redick called a timeout and stormed onto the court to talk to one of the officials. The game cut to commercial from there. When it returned, the broadcast informed us that the public address announcer told the fans that anyone found with a whistle would be removed from the game.
Dončić stopped because he heard a whistle. It just didn’t come from the officials, but rather, someone in the stands. Check out this video that surfaced after the game. The whistle can be heard clearly.
This, apparently, was not the only moment it happened. Laker reserve Jordan Goodwin said that he heard the whistle from the crowd three or four times in the second half. According to Goodwin, there was another play in which LeBron James stopped because he thought he heard a whistle. Measuring the impact of these whistles would be impossible, but in a close game, every possession counts.
The NBA has an official fan code of conduct that lists items that are prohibited from arenas. Whistles, for obvious competitive reasons, are on that list. A fan who sneaks one in, as seemingly happened on Friday, could use it to confuse opposing players at strategically critical moments.
Arena security will likely be on high alert when Game 4 is played on Sunday, because even if it only impacted a few plays, the NBA obviously does not want fans interfering with the action on the floor.
