Kevin Durant appeared to get away with a potential game-deciding error in his Houston Rockets regular-season debut against the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder during Tuesday’s opening-night showdown. The superstar forward was the beneficiary of a questionable non-call, sending NBA fans into a frenzy.
With 4.7 seconds remaining in overtime and the score knotted at 115-115 after the first OT, OKC got the ball to superstar guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the wing. The reigning league MVP got his go-ahead shot attempt blocked by Rockets forward Tari Eason, with the ball landing in Durant’s hands underneath the basket with around 2.0 seconds to go.
Despite Houston being out of timeouts, the 15-time All-Star tried to call one, which should have resulted in a technical foul and one free throw for the Thunder. Instead, Durant’s timeout signal was overlooked by the referees as time ran out, to the apparent disbelief of OKC coach Mark Daigneault, who stormed onto the court to confront the officiating crew.
NBA Fans React to Kevin Durant Being ‘Saved’ by Officials in Rockets Debut
Following the controversial non-call in Durant’s favor, fans on X were left exasperated, questioning how the referees could ignore a seemingly blatant timeout signal.
KD called a timeout with none left and the refs ignored it 💀💀💀 pic.twitter.com/dPfhsWemA2
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) October 22, 2025
“kd has made some mistakes tonight, that being the most egregious. and he got away with it. wow,” one fan said.
“KD gets saved again smh,” another wrote.
“Yeah, KD got away with one there,” one user remarked.
“That’s a ridiculous call. KD clearly trying to call timeout. That’s insane. OKC totally in the right to be losing their minds over that,” another asserted.
Meanwhile, others likened Durant’s blunder to Chris Webber’s infamous timeout mishap with Michigan in the 1993 NCAA championship game that triggered a critical technical foul.
“KD in OT vs the Thunder,” one fan captioned an image of Webber’s slip-up.
“The refs saved KD from this,” another captioned a similar Webber photo.
Some even claimed that NBA commissioner Adam Silver was already urging officials to rig games for ratings purposes on opening night.
“adam silver made the call trying to maximize these nbc ratings,” the user contended.
Meanwhile, in the Pool Report interview conducted by Cliff Brunt of the Associated Press, Crew Chief Zach Zarba gave rather blunt reasoning for the non-call. “None of the three game officials saw Kevin signal that timeout. That’s why it wasn’t granted before the expiration of time,” Zarba said.
Fortunately for OKC, karma was seemingly on its side, as Gilgeous-Alexander baited Durant into his sixth foul with the Thunder trailing 124-123 with 2.3 seconds left in double overtime. The three-time All-Star proceeded to knock down both free throws to give his squad a one-point lead en route to a hard-fought 125-124 home victory.
Reverse-pivot + shot-fake from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander baits Kevin Durant into his 6th foul and 2 free throws to take the lead
DeMar DeRozan and Dwyane Wade would be proud pic.twitter.com/KJoRdSPz8s
— Jackson Lloyd (@JacksonLloyd952) October 22, 2025
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with a team-high 35 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks, shooting 12-for-26 (46.2%). Meanwhile, Durant fouled out with 23 points, nine rebounds, and three assists, shooting 9-for-16 (56.3%) in what should mark a memorable first regular-season outing with the Rockets.
