TORONTO - Kevin Love's elbow to DeMar DeRozan's jaw with a minute left in regulation and the Toronto Raptors leading the Cleveland Cavaliers by two points has been upgraded to a flagrant foul 1, the league said Wednesday.
The call was one of three missed calls down the stretch in the Cavaliers' 113-112 overtime win over the Raptors in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal on Tuesday, the league said in its Last Two Minute Report.
Love was called for a common foul on the play, which occurred with 1:12 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Raptors up 105-103. Love was trying to protect the ball from DeRozan when he swung his arms and caught DeRozan in the face with his left elbow, causing the guard to fall to the floor.
The league said that "given the end of game impact" of Love's elbow, the officials should have reviewed the play and upgraded the initial call to a flagrant 1. Had that occurred, the Raptors would have received two free throws plus possession.
Among the other missed calls from Tuesday's game was one that occurred immediately before Love elbowed DeRozan. After Love corralled a missed Serge Ibaka shot in traffic, the league determined that DeRozan made contact with Love's arm as he attempted to play the ball and should have been called for a foul. Had that foul on DeRozan been called, the play would have stopped and the flagrant 1 would never have occurred.
After DeRozan's contact, the league said Love traveled but that the foul would have taken precedence over the travel.
The third missed call occurred with 1:36 remaining in overtime. According to the league's report, DeRozan should have been whistled for a loose ball foul for contact on Tristan Thompson, which hindered Thompson's ability to go for an offensive rebound off a Love miss with the Cavs up 113-109.