The Spurs made a rare boneheaded misunderstanding of the clock at the end of Game 7 against the Nuggets. Down 90-86, DeMar DeRozan missed a layup attempt with just under 30 seconds remaining and the Nuggets rebounded with about 28 seconds left. This was a two-possession game and by not fouling the Spurs made it so their best case scenario was to get the ball back with like four seconds left and down four points with one timeout left.

A total head-scratcher that Gregg Popovich’s squad did not foul here to at least try to extend the game.

This decision, ironically, caused the Spurs to cover the six-point spread. If they had fouled, it would have been far more likely that the Nuggets would have pushed or covered.

UPDATE: Actually, it appears Popovich was screaming for his team to foul and they couldn’t hear him:

UPDATE II: Popovich had a succinct explanation: