duncan228
03-30-2009, 12:01 AM
Refs accused of ill-timed mistake (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Refs_accused_of_ill-timed_mistake.html)
Jeff McDonald
NEW ORLEANS — Referee Eddie F. Rush left the court at New Orleans Arena on Sunday night with Michael Finley still in his ear.
There was no disputing the outcome, a 90-86 victory the Hornets seized while shorthanded. Finley and the rest of the Spurs simply believed it ended earlier than it should have.
A clock malfunction appears to have cost the Spurs precious seconds at the end of the game.
The Spurs had just made back-to-back 3-pointers to close a seven-point gap to one with 17.8 seconds to go. On the ensuing inbounds, New Orleans' Chris Paul split a double-team from Finley and Tony Parker in the backcourt, then drew a foul on Manu Ginobili while hoisting a half-court 3-pointer.
The clock stopped at 7.1 seconds. The Spurs argued as many as two seconds ran off the clock after the whistle.
Finley said the scoreboard operator told the officials of the breakdown, but the officials said they could not review the play because they didn't see the extra time trickle off.
“We thought the clock ran,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. They didn't stop the clock. It's not something they can correct, according to the officials.”
After some argument, Paul rendered the discussion moot. He made all three foul shots to put the Hornets back up by four, the final margin.
It has its privileges: With a coast-to-coast layup late in the first quarter Sunday, Parker joined an exclusive club.
It was his 10,000th point, a plateau reached by just 25 other guards in NBA history.
He became only the fourth player to accomplish that feat while with the Spurs, joining George Gervin, Tim Duncan and David Robinson. Finley is also a member of the 10,000-point club, having joined while with Dallas in 2002.
The Spurs are one of only three teams to have three active members of the 10,000-point club. Boston and Phoenix are the others.
Close to a clincher: Even with the loss, the Spurs crawled closer to clinching their 12th consecutive playoff berth.
Phoenix's loss in Sacramento allowed the Spurs to retain an eight-game lead over the ninth-place Suns with nine to play. Any combination of two Spurs victories or Suns losses will punch the Spurs' ticket to the postseason.
Posey suspended: The Hornets learned about seven hours before tipoff that the NBA had suspended key reserve James Posey for throwing the ball at the feet of referee Gary Zielinski.
Given that Stu Jackson, the league's discipline czar, witnessed the incident first-hand at Madison Square Garden on Friday, the Hornets couldn't have been surprised at the news.
Still, New Orleans coach Byron Scott said he had hoped the NBA would accept Posey's explanation that he threw Zielinski a bounce pass that inadvertently hit the official.
“If my intent really is to hit you, I'm not going to throw the ball at your feet,” Scott said. “That's all I'm saying. If my intent is to hit you with the ball, I'm going to hit you where I know it can hurt. That's normally right in your nose.”
Jeff McDonald
NEW ORLEANS — Referee Eddie F. Rush left the court at New Orleans Arena on Sunday night with Michael Finley still in his ear.
There was no disputing the outcome, a 90-86 victory the Hornets seized while shorthanded. Finley and the rest of the Spurs simply believed it ended earlier than it should have.
A clock malfunction appears to have cost the Spurs precious seconds at the end of the game.
The Spurs had just made back-to-back 3-pointers to close a seven-point gap to one with 17.8 seconds to go. On the ensuing inbounds, New Orleans' Chris Paul split a double-team from Finley and Tony Parker in the backcourt, then drew a foul on Manu Ginobili while hoisting a half-court 3-pointer.
The clock stopped at 7.1 seconds. The Spurs argued as many as two seconds ran off the clock after the whistle.
Finley said the scoreboard operator told the officials of the breakdown, but the officials said they could not review the play because they didn't see the extra time trickle off.
“We thought the clock ran,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. They didn't stop the clock. It's not something they can correct, according to the officials.”
After some argument, Paul rendered the discussion moot. He made all three foul shots to put the Hornets back up by four, the final margin.
It has its privileges: With a coast-to-coast layup late in the first quarter Sunday, Parker joined an exclusive club.
It was his 10,000th point, a plateau reached by just 25 other guards in NBA history.
He became only the fourth player to accomplish that feat while with the Spurs, joining George Gervin, Tim Duncan and David Robinson. Finley is also a member of the 10,000-point club, having joined while with Dallas in 2002.
The Spurs are one of only three teams to have three active members of the 10,000-point club. Boston and Phoenix are the others.
Close to a clincher: Even with the loss, the Spurs crawled closer to clinching their 12th consecutive playoff berth.
Phoenix's loss in Sacramento allowed the Spurs to retain an eight-game lead over the ninth-place Suns with nine to play. Any combination of two Spurs victories or Suns losses will punch the Spurs' ticket to the postseason.
Posey suspended: The Hornets learned about seven hours before tipoff that the NBA had suspended key reserve James Posey for throwing the ball at the feet of referee Gary Zielinski.
Given that Stu Jackson, the league's discipline czar, witnessed the incident first-hand at Madison Square Garden on Friday, the Hornets couldn't have been surprised at the news.
Still, New Orleans coach Byron Scott said he had hoped the NBA would accept Posey's explanation that he threw Zielinski a bounce pass that inadvertently hit the official.
“If my intent really is to hit you, I'm not going to throw the ball at your feet,” Scott said. “That's all I'm saying. If my intent is to hit you with the ball, I'm going to hit you where I know it can hurt. That's normally right in your nose.”