Watch: Rui Hachimura gets ejected on controversial call

Rui Hachimura and Japan were approaching a historic upset of France on Tuesday. But a controversial ruling sent him to the bench.

With nine minutes to go in France's 94-90 overtime win over Japan, Hachimura was called for an "unsportsmanlike foul" on Rudy Gobert. It looked like an ordinary foul, as Hachimura hacked Gobert's arm to prevent an and-one, but the French center exaggerated the contact and hit the ground, perhaps inspiring the ejection.

Regardless, this was a play you'd see many times in an NBA game without anyone considering calling a flagrant foul. What made the call more controversial was that Hachimura was torching the French team in front of its home crowd, scoring 24 points on 10-for-16 shooting before his ejection.

Even with Hachimura on the bench, France needed more help from the officials to survive Japan. Trailing 84-80 with 10 seconds to go, 21-year-old Matthew Strazel got a four-point play when the referees called a foul on a play with very little contact.

Of course, Japan shouldn't have been contesting that hard with a four-point lead. Or it could have simply fouled a French player on the floor to prevent them from taking a three-pointer at all.

In the overtime period, France's Victor Wembanyama took over. He scored eight of France's 10 points in the extra period, adding a steal and a block. Wembanyama finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as the home team escaped.

Now France can play Germany, the reigning FIBA champ, without worrying about being eliminated, as its 2-0 record nearly guarantees it will finish in the top two of Group B. Japan is now 0-2 and would need a huge victory in its final game against Brazil to overcome its -24 point differential.

Japan had a chance at a historic upset. But France's clutch shooting — and the officials' aggressive whistle — likely sends the Japanese team home.