The Boston Celtics fell to 11-3 on the inaugural 2023-24 NBA season with a heartbreaking 121-118 overtime away loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday evening.

Tatum scored 45 points in a mostly flawless performance, but he missed a free shot late in overtime that would have knotted the game for the Celtics. The Hornets subsequently collected the rebound and were fouled, shooting two free throws to increase their advantage to three points with only a few minutes remaining.

There was only one problem: there should have been much more time on the clock. According to Taylor Snow, the NBA verified in its Last Two Minutes report on Tuesday that, following Tatum’s missed free shot, a foul should have been called on Jrue Holiday with 5.2 seconds remaining. The call was made with 3.2 seconds remaining, and even after that delay, 1.5 seconds elapsed before the clock was eventually stopped with 1.7 seconds remaining.

In other terms, the Celtics should have had 3.2 seconds more to work with what they did. The Celtics’ final desperate try saw a pass intended for Jaylen Brown intercepted by the Hornets’ Miles Bridges, thereby ending the game.

While 11-3 isn’t a bad record (in fact, it’s the best in the NBA), the Celtics know how important it is to win every game possible in order to secure home court advantage in the playoffs, and they certainly blew an opportunity to do so on Monday, made even more frustrating by the egregious officiating error.