Again, obvious. What's your point?

Aw, man! I thought we were done here.

My initial point to this...

...was that a single play NEVER decides a game. The accumulation of everything within the game does.

And you're wrong.

Fixed it for ya. ;)

Okay, how so?

I really hate quoting myself, but here's how:

Finally, bob has already stated my position quite accurately:

All true, but the key verb here is decide.

What decides the outcome of the game? The score. How long do we keep score? For the entire game, not just the final seconds.

It's very easy to get caught up in the emotions and drama of the final seconds. I get caught up in them, too. Naturally, it's what people remember.

But, let's put our heads above the emotions (as we officials are expected to do). In the grand scheme of things, the final seconds of a close game don't mean jack squat without everything else that happened during the game's entirety.

"THAT PLAY decided the game" is an emotional statement. When you look at the game objectively, the game is always decided via totality.

MANAGING THE LAST FOUR MINUTES OF THE GAME.
In a close competitive contest the last four minutes of the game are the most important. That is not to say that the rest of the game is unimportant, but in a close game everything that happens during the last four minutes is magnified in the eyes of players, coaches and fans. It is at the four minute mark of a close game that everyone involved realizes that each and every play is vital and each and every call made by an official is a potential game decider.

It is vitally important that the officials don’t change their approach to officiating the game during the last four minutes of a close contest. What was or wasn’t a foul in the first four minutes of the game must be called the same during the last four minutes when the game is on the line. In some instances officials tend to call what was a good block in the first quarter a foul at the two- minute mark of the fourth quarter.

Slow down just a little bit more during the last four minutes of a close game. Slow your whistle down when calling fouls and violations. Slow down just a tad when resuming play with a throw-in or free throw. Slow down and be certain that Team A is in the bonus or the double bonus. Slow down when reporting fouls. Slow down and make sure you have communicated all pertinent information to your partner(s) if a technical foul is called.

Anticipate time-outs even better during the last four minutes of the game. Know how many of each length of TO's each team has. Anticipate that a team may want a time out after the other team has made two or three baskets in a row, or when a player is trapped and in danger of having a five second violation called, or when the opposition has scored the tying or go ahead basket with just seconds remaining. Watch the players on their way to the bench after a time out has been called. This is aperiod of the game when emotions run high.

During the last four minutes of the game always make sure both coaches are aware of where the ball will be played in following a time out. Don’t assume the coach knows that the ball is coming in from the sideline, while in fact he is drawing up a play thinking it is coming in from the end line. The C in three and the lead in two should always anticipate a designed play involving a back screen after a time out near the end of the game.

Officials should use the time-outs during the last four minutes of the game just as the teams do. Get together and review the current situation. Which team is ahead? Which teams are in the bonus or double bonus? Who has to foul if they miss the free throw? Always anticipate the possibility of an intentional foul.

Last second plays after a time out can really get officials in hot water if they are not on their toes. Anticipate throws from A1 to A2 along the end line out of bounds. Anticipate the defenders reaching through the boundary line slapping the ball or committing fouls. Be ready for the player throwing the ball in to run along the end line trying to bait the defenders into running through a screen.

The last four minutes of a close game is when officials must work the hardest, get the best looks and use their best judgment. It is the time for the best communication with partners, coaches, players and scorers and timers. It is the time to know which official is ruling on the last shot. It is the time to be ready for anything.

Has your player stepped inbounds in order to do this?

Good grief, don't throw the emotion canard at me, it's not going to get you anywhere but ignored due to lack of relevance. Here's the statement you made with which I initially disagreed:

That's simply not true, but I think you've sufficiently backtracked from it and fallen back to the word "decide." While a single play may not have "decided" the game, it can certainly affect the game. And the significance of that impact is inversely proportional to the time remaining in the game at the time of the event. That's what I've been arguing.

This thread kinda warped over time, did it not? The OP, I think, recognized the relative importance of the final seconds in the scheme of things. He also feels, apparently, that a bad no-call is better than a bad call. I would agree. But what I get out of the OP is that he is asking if he should change his standard of making a call in the final seconds to help avoid making a bad call in this circumstance. I think most of us agree the answer to this is no.

Any foul call in the dying seconds is going to elicit fan response and bench response in a close game. I know it is HTBT, but the description in the OP matches up to: blowing the whistle = good call, right call; and, not blowing the whistle = choking or swallowing the whistle.

A bad no-call is just as bad as a bad call. Either way you've kicked it.

Your standard for fouls needs to be the same from tip to final horn. The idea that a correctly called foul takes the game away from the players needs to be rejected for the mistaken belief that it is.

Absolutely!

Disagree.

It's better to miss something that happened than to "see" something that didn't.