MINNEAPOLIS -- Mitch Johnson saw the play, as did most of the basketball world. In the guts of Game 3 , Stephon Castle handled the rock outside the arc with Jaden McDaniels draped all over him. As McDaniels reached in, Castle lifted his arm and snapped his head back as he fought through the contact. Dylan Harper set a hard screen to bump McDaniels out of the way, and he was replaced by the beefy Julius Randle who continued to harangue Castle. Steph used his off arm to fend Randle off, and as he drove Victor Wembanyama flattened Randle with a crushing screen. So…we are saying this is NOT hand-checking? pic.twitter.com/9X9x3Pgx9f — Swipa (@SwipaCam) May 9, 2026 In the regular season it could have been a foul on McDaniels, or on Randle, or on Castle, or a carry. There were about 10 times in the 10-second clip where the official could have blown the play dead and assessed a penalty one way or the other, according to the NBA rulebook. But this is the playoffs, and the whistle stayed holstered.…