The Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets delivered an entertaining match on Thursday night, highlighted by one unusual play in the closing seconds. The standout moment, however, was not on the court but rather the incredibly animated reaction from Memphis Grizzlies Radio Network announcer Eric Hasseltine.
With Houston leading by one point and just 16 seconds left on the clock, Rockets guard Fred VanVleet missed a 3-point shot. Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells seized the rebound, raced down the court, and went for a dunk.
“Shot clock turned off,” Hasseltine exclaimed. “Wells … has a breakaway! Goes to the rim!” But just as excitement built, Hasseltine noticed an official had whistled the play dead.
“NOOOOOOOOO!” he yelled, his voice filled with disbelief. “NOOOOOOOOO!”
Here’s Eric Hasseltine and @elliotlperry on the Grizzlies Radio Network last night during the end of the Rockets/Grizzlies game.
An all-timer from Eric Hasseltine.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” pic.twitter.com/zZAsDnnTaC
— Jon Roser (@Jon_Roser) January 31, 2025
This “NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” from Hasseltine was as over-the-top and emotional as one might hear on a sports broadcast. His reaction was justified, considering that the officials stopped the game under the impression that Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins had called a timeout, despite replays showing no such signal from him.
Here’s how the play unfolded, complete with commentary from TNT’s Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller.
The Grizzlies beat the Rockets 120-119 despite the refs’ best efforts to ruin it.
Officials ruled a Memphis timeout was called before a breakaway go-ahead dunk. Replays don’t show Grizzlies HC Taylor Jenkins calling a timeout.
Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller had the TNT call. #NBA pic.twitter.com/9unTJQ3ZMV
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 31, 2025
Crew chief Ben Taylor informed The Commercial Appeal’s Damichael Cole in a media pool report that the officials quickly recognized Jenkins had not called for a timeout. “The official thought he heard coach [Jenkins] yell timeout from behind him and so he awarded the timeout. But after realizing that Coach Jenkins didn’t (call timeout), it becomes an inadvertent whistle, and we put the ball on the side out in that scenario,” Taylor explained.
Ultimately, a poor call by the officials resulted in a memorable broadcast moment from Hasseltine. Many fans on social media expressed their admiration for his enthusiasm, including Grizzlies TV analyst Brevin Knight.
Classic call!! It was so good!!
— Brevin Knight (@brevinknight22) January 31, 2025
