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That is why the shot clock horn (or lights, if the shot clock has separate lights on it) determines shot clock violations. If the shot clock horn goes off before the shot is released, then we have a violation. That is why it is important as the referee before the game to listen carefully to both the shot clock and game clock horns. This will allow one to later pick up on the difference in close situations like the OP.
For the same reason, officials with a shot clock are advised to call a 10-second violation when the shot clock hits 19, because it is quite possible that a shot clock that is exactly at 21.0 will go down to 20 when the shot and game clocks start. If an official doesn't realize this, he may call the 10-second violation early, because the rule states that it is a violation to be in continuous possession of a ball in a team's on backcourt for more than 10 seconds. If the shot clock is at 19.9 (19 seconds showing), the more than criterion is satisfied, and thus there is a violation. For those using a 24-second shot clock and an 8-second count in the backcourt, the magic number is 15 seconds, because a shot clock won't show 10ths until the last 5 seconds.
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