- ESPN accidentally cut to commercial at the worst possible time during Wednesday night's game between the Spurs and Lakers, missing a game-winning shot attempt at the buzzer.
- Fans watching expressed confusion and anger at the bizarre turn of events.
- The Lakers eventually won the game in overtime, making the Spurs' path to the playoffs a bit more perilous.
NBA fans tuning into ESPN for Wednesday night's matchup between the Lakers and Spurs were robbed of one of the game's most dramatic moments when the network accidentally cut to commercial during the final seconds of regulation.
In the final seconds of the game, the Lakers had the ball with the score tied 108-108. Josh Hart drove to the basket and put up a shot with just 0.3 seconds left in the game. As the ball was in the air, ESPN briefly cut to a commercial, before coming back to the game after the buzzer sounded. Hart had missed the attempt, and the game was headed to overtime.
It was a bizarre, disappointing moment for fans who had been watching the entire game.
Here's how the play should've looked over the broadcast.
As you can imagine, fans were confused with the turn of events, taking to Twitter to make sure that they hadn't experienced the glitch independently.
Thankfully, the broadcast made it through overtime without further interruption, as fans watched the Lakers pull away in the extra period to win by a final score of 122-112.
With the loss, the Spurs' playoff prospects are even shakier. There are currently seven teams within three games of each other fighting for the final five playoff spots in the West, with only three or four games remaining for each. And with games against the Blazers and Pelicans still on their schedule, the Spurs don't have a particularly easy finish to the regular season.
Fans will be watching their final games on the edge of their seats - hopefully, their viewings go uninterrupted.
OH COME ON pic.twitter.com/2AkQ9Nw7dU
- Deadspin (@Deadspin) April 5, 2018
If you were watching the final 4 seconds of the Spurs-Lakers tied game on ESPN, you missed the final play due to a commercial cutting in
- Sports Illustrated (@SInow) April 5, 2018
Here's the final play of regulation 👇pic.twitter.com/fb7UU8TPh8
Did anyone else's ESPN feed cut to commercial during hat final Lakers possession? Hahahaha someone's finger slipped
- Will Muoio (@will_muoio) April 5, 2018
Did ESPN flash to commercial at EXACTLY the wrong time for anyone else?
- Alex (@Bballtweets3) April 5, 2018
WTF JUST HAPPENED ON THE ESPN GAME?! WENT TO COMMERCIAL WHEN HE SHOT IT?
- Jacob ⭐️ (@JacobMOrtiz) April 5, 2018