The fact that people think it shouldn't be a foul because of the time of the game is absurd. It was blatant. Should be called 100% of the time. This wasn't one of those ticky-tack Harden fouls.
Wow even Grantland is taking Houston's side... http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nba-shootaround-physical-graffiti/
Doesn't matter whether or not you "going to get" it - you can't grab the guys arm on the way to the basket and strip the ball - it's a textbook foul at the end, beginning, middle whatever of the game. It's not really a judgment call.
It was a blatant foul. I don't care about Harden's history, nor the context. Z-Bo got all arm = foul. And, Beard made the right move. Why should he take a step back jumper when he could get the basket? Harden played it the right way. Z-Bo did what he could do. The refs failed.
I think James was baiting Lee into thinking he was going to step back and take a jumper. He usually does in those situations. In fact, he just had a couple minutes earlier to tie it at 98. But then he saw an opportunity to drive and attacked the paint. He caught Lee and Z-Bo off guard, hence the foul. I guess he must've caught the refs off guard as well since they apparently didn't know what to do. BTW, that Grantland article doesn't exactly side with the Rockets. It does concede that they got raped by the officials, but then all but says they should lay back and enjoy it(metaphorically speaking).
