Trailing the Houston Rockets 109–107 in the closing seconds, Cavaliers guard Darius Garland was fouled on a three-point attempt by Tari Eason and was gifted three free-throw attempts. After review, officials deemed that Eason's close-out was actually "reckless" and upgraded the personal foul to a flagrant foul 1—meaning Garland would get three free-throw attempts and the Cavaliers would receive the ball.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been a winning machine lately, and it looked like they had put themselves in an improbable position to pick up another victory on Wednesday night. After the Houston Rockets had taken a 13-point fourth quarter lead at home and seemed poised to close the Cavaliers out,