Pool Report on the Raptors’ Timeout at the end of Tonight’s Game

The Pool Report interview was conducted by Eric Koreen (The Athletic) with Crew Chief Ed Malloy following tonight’s Boston Celtics at Toronto Raptors game.

QUESTION: “Before the [Pascal] Siakam – [Al] Horford jump ball, did Nick Nurse ask any member of the officiating party if he could challenge the play if he called timeout?”

MALLOY: “No member of our crew heard Coach Nurse ask if he could challenge prior to him calling a timeout. After Coach Nurse called the timeout, that is when he asked if he could challenge the play and I informed him that it was not a challengeable play.”

QUESTION: “To be clear, a jump ball isn’t a challengeable play?”

MALLOY: “That is correct.”

QUESTION: “Can a timeout that is called by a coach be rescinded by the official, given back, essentially, to the team if he called it on the basis of information given to him by one of the officials that turned out to be untrue?”

MALLOY: “A timeout can be rescinded however, in this case, as I answered in the first question, we did not hear Coach Nurse ask for the challenge and also due to the length of the time that had already elapsed we felt the timeout had to be granted.”

QUESTION: “That would be because the teams had convened and discussed strategy perhaps or was there another reason?”

MALLOY: “No, no, just the fact that we felt that it took a good amount of time up until that point and therefore we felt that the timeout had to be granted.”