Steven Adams laid across the baseline, arms outstretched like a toppled scarecrow. Teammate Danilo Gallinari stood over him, ready to help him to his feet. But Adams embraced another moment on the hardwood.
All 7-feet and 265 pounds of him had gone crashing to the floor for nothing. Adams had tried to take a charge, absorbing contact from Kelly Oubre Jr. as the Suns small forward leaped toward the rim. But the officials handed Adams a blocking foul.
In previous years, a similar call might have dissuaded Adams from attempting to take another charge. Not this season.