It didn't defy physics because that would be impossible(unless it a new force which we don't know). With the millions upon millions of free throws shot annually at least a few have probably given some strange results. I was a game where after a poorly placed shot the ball rolled back and forth on the top of the backboard. It was surreal. But again..not impossible.
I'm not sure that a headline containing a tiny bit of hyperbole required a semantics lesson. We all know that the laws of physics are safe and in tact.
He was just quoting the wired article which did indeed question the laws of physics.