TORONTO -- Kevin Love's elbow to DeMar DeRozan's jaw with about a minute to go in regulation and the Raptors leading the Cleveland Cavaliers by two points has been upgraded to a flagrant foul 1, the league said Wednesday.
The call was one of three missed calls late in the Cavaliers' 113-112 overtime victory in Tuesday's Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal, the league said in its Last Two Minute Report.
Love was called for a common foul on the play, which occurred with 1:12 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Raptors leading 105-103. Love was trying to protect the ball from DeRozan when he swung his arms and caught DeRozan in the face with his left elbow, causing the shooting guard to fall to the floor.
The league said that "given the wind up and impact" of Love's elbow, the officials should have reviewed the play and upgraded the initial call to assess him with a flagrant 1. Had that occurred, the Raptors would have been awarded two foul shots, plus possession of the ball.
Among the other missed calls in Tuesday's game was one that occurred immediately before Love's elbow to DeRozan. After Love rebounded a missed shot by Serge Ibaka in traffic, the league determined that DeRozan made contact with Love's arm when trying to make a play on the ball and should have been called for a foul. Had that foul on DeRozan been called, the play would have been stopped and the flagrant 1 would never have occurred.
After the contact from DeRozan, the league said that Love traveled but that the foul would have taken precedence over the travel.
The third missed call occurred with 1:36 remaining in overtime. According to the league's report, DeRozan should have been whistled for a loose ball foul for contact made on Tristan Thompson, prohibiting Thompson's ability to grab an offensive rebound off a Love miss with the Cavs leading 113-109.
