The In its own way, that's worse, but still, I think for the time being we can feel pretty comfortable with the notion that NBA games are least intended to be determined by the players. Miami, although technically not a bigger market, is a more nationally relevant city than Dallas. L.A.'s Derek Fisher and Boston's Scot Pollard played in the 2002 playoff game between the Lakers and Sacramento Kings, the game Tim Donaghy says was rigged by two referees in favor of the Lakers. The Pistons led the championshipseries 3 games to 2, and Isiah Thomas was putting on a show in Game 6. If the same play happened with Hakeem Olajuwon defending Kareem, I doubt there's a whistle. The Kings were up three to two in the series and needed just one more win to advance to the NBA Finals. Cleveland Cavaliers GetThe First Pick Again In 2014. Papers filed in court contain damning allegations by Donaghy that a 2002 playoff series was rigged by referees and that league officials encouraged refs to affect the outcome of games by calling fouls or, in other situations, not calling on fouls on star players. What is unfortunate is that in the NBA, refs get it wrong. But still, this call only came in Game 3. The Throwback. It seemed a bit too perfect for Cleveland and the theory is the NBA seemed to be playing favorites with the city of Cleveland due to the city's long history of losing in sports, and 2014 presented one of the best draft classes coming out in recent memory. Many speculated that the game was rigged. A decade later, it remains the first piece of evidence for anyone building a case that the NBA is rigged. In Game 5, he shot 25 free throws, the same amount as the entire Dallas team. Here's what I think really happens. The biggest star in the series (Kobe Bryant) shot seven. Convicted felon and former referee Tim Donaghy has come out and claimed that this game was rigged multiple times. What's worse is that the Spurs initiated the fight. The game and the series ended not with a bang but with a free throw marathon whimper, as the Kings shot a lousy 16-30 from the free throw line, and saw their heralded role-players out-performed by the Lakers much mocked reserves. In 2014, the Milwaukee Bucks had the leagues worst record and the Philadelphia 76ers were in the first year of their drastic tanking strategy that was employed by Sam Hinkie. Christie responded with an uppercut to the jaw, and the brawl that followed between the two teams spilled into the arena tunnel and involved ONeal, ONeals private security guards, much of the Kings bench and Christies wife. The score crept to 80-73. Whistles can swing games, series and ultimately championships. I'd love for someone to point out where the foul is. There is evidence of tampering within the game too,Ingame 6, the Lakers were awarded with shooting40 free throws in theentiregame, including 27 in the 4. quarter alone! We'll see how this plays out over the rest of the 2012 playoffs, but if LeBron continues to get calls like this, then the conspiracy theorists will get plenty of evidence of the NBA rigging games. With both I think they win the series. The '93 Knicks were the best team of the Ewing era. Pollard, who was careful not to pin the result on refereeing, said he remembered feeling that there was something amiss early on in the game and a feeling of helplessness. ONeal was controlling the paint, aided by the whistles Pollard fouled out in just 11 minutes of court time. Bibby was clearly elbowed in the face by Kobe Bryant, but that did not stop Bryant from getting a foul call on Bibby and knocking down two free throws to win the game for the Lakers. The Lakers were back-to-back defending champions at that point. Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw were suspended. With the clock ticking down in the fourth quarter the Knicks were down by three.In the final seconds Larry Johnson launched a three pointer that washighly contested. Then the Clippers pick became the first pick in the draft against all odds, and the NBA had again made basketball relevant in the state of Ohio. But part of being an NBA fan is questioning the refs, who make dozens of difficult, subjective calls that often change the course of a game. To reinvigorate the fans the NBA knew that Cleveland had to have success on NBA draft lottery night, and it all started when the Cavs heard they had gotten the fourth pick with their own selection. ONeal rebounded the ball on the far side of the basket and went up for a shot, challenged by Divac. The NBA lottery was much different in its first year than it is today. With a slim 1.5% of winning the 1993 draft lottery the Magic won it, and selected Chris Webber first overall who they later traded away for Penny Hardaway. He fouled out, committing six personal fouls in only 11 minutes of play. Had an offensive foul been called, the Bulls would have lost Game 6 86-85 and been forced to play Game 7 in Utah. . The NBA social media page stirred up some controversy when it revealed on its events page the events taking place May 30 through June 5. Fast forward to around the 5:30 mark. When the 76ers got the first pick in the draft later that night no one was surprised. The New York Knicks were on a miracle run through the playoffs as the eighth seed, and had made it all the way to theEastern Conference Finals to face off with the rival Indiana Pacers. The statistics: 27 free throw attempts in the quarter for the Lakers, against nine for the Kings. Seconds after the miss a whistle blew. Some people cry conspiracy, claiming the game is rigged. Sacramentos season ended just a few points short: Lakers 112-Kings 106. WebHowever, when Minnesota lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers gained home court advantage for the NBA Finals because the Lakers posted a better regular season record at 56-26 than the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons at 5428. But what's worst of all? But still, it was only one game, which is why it loses the No. 8 seed) and they shouldn't have let one bad call ruin the series for them, but they folded, winning only one more game in the series. Take that with a grain of salt though, because I also blame LeBron for our national debt, the cancellation of Arrested Development and world hunger. Top NBA executives rigged playoff series to pack arenas and pump up TV ratings by ordering officials to shamelessly make calls that benefited favored teams, disgraced ex-ref Tim Donaghy charged in Id never experienced anything quite like it, said writer James Ham, the editor of ESPNs Kings site, Cowbell Kingdom. The Pistons are the NBA champions. That isessentially givingthe Lakers an opportunity to score 27 extra points in the last quarter of a close game. A bemused Adelman and Kings bench. Every questionable call seems to involve either a big-market team or a star on one side and someone or some team of lesser note on the other. The news certainly had a captive audience in Los Angeles. Lakers supernovas Kobe Bryant and Shaquille ONeal paced the visitors in both games, while Webber and Bibby did their best to match suit while getting more out of the role players surrounding them in an offense that emphasized motion, passing and cutting to the rim. I don't think he actively tries to rig NBA games, but I also believe he does nothing to stop refs from making it seem like he does. All rights reserved. That is the mark of a true bad call. When one team shoots 28 more free throws than the other, you have to look into it. Ewing was the most dynamic center to come out of the college ranks since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The Cavaliers were a little lucky to have two chances at hitting the lottery, but the first round pick that they had acquired from the Clippers had just a 2.8% chance of converting into the number one pick after the Clippers finished with the eighth worst record in basketball. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Maybe that particular ref just has a loose definition of the word "tie," but I think there was some bias against Laimbeer involved here. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Bibby inbounded the ball to Webber, who promptly passed the ball to a curling Bibby and set a hard (Lakers fans would claim moving) screen on Bibbys defender Derek Fisher, who fell to the ground in a heap. Shaq was overly physical, and the refs didn't call many fouls. The Pistons led the Lakers by one point in the final moments of Game 6 of the 1988 Finals. Learn more and register, Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles Lakers, Seattle SuperSonics vs. San Antonio Spurs, Scores from any date in BAA/NBA or ABA history, Frequently Asked Questions about the NBA, WNBA and Basketball, Basketball-Reference.com Blog and Articles, Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREE. WebFor more info on the BBALLBREAKDOWN Online Membership: http://bit.ly/BballMemberWhen the Kings and Lakers clashed in the 2002 Western So far, the series had been relatively normal. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Kobe Bryant basically punched Mike Bibby in the face without a call. In 2002, the Sacramento Kings appeared to have the LA Lakers' number. In Game 5 of the 1997 Eastern Conference semifinals, Charlie Ward and P.J. Find out more. He will also be around a lot longer. Donaghy has pleaded guilty and will be sentenced next month. It's eight minutes long (by the way, I highly encourage watching it if you're a fan of terrible calls). 2002 Western Conference Finals On the court, the games between the two teams were definitely intense, culminating in the 2002 NBA Western Conference Finals, which featured Robert Horry's famous last-second three-pointer to beat the Kings in Game 4, a 1 point Kings win off of a Bibby field goal in the waning seconds of Game 5, a More often than not, a conspiracy will pop up and make you question a persons sanity, their grasp on reality According to Fadeaway World, the controversy began in game six of the WCF. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. It was egregiously, embarrassingly bad Stern and the NBA had better deal with it quickly, lest they appear completely unaware of a condition that will threaten the credibility of the league., Even Jackson, speaking in 2008after Donaghys court claim, said bad calls went both ways, and he just wanted to move on: "There's a lot of things going on in these games and they're suspicious, but I don't want to throw it back to there. Bernhardt made no foul call on Christie's block of Kobe with the game tied at 3:56, gave Bibby a bailout call with the shot clock winding down at 2:34 with the game tied, and didn't call Webber for a foul on Shaq's basket at 0:52 which could have fouled out C-Webb and given the Lakers a look at a four point lead. I don't believe the Knicks had any real shot of winning this game, even under fair circumstances, but the refs didn't exactly help. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. 3. Fortunately, four teams in the East delivered. It was not legitimate, Pollard said, now out of the league and safe from being fined for criticizing the officials. With Sabonis out of the game, the Blazers had to defend Shaqat his absolute apexwith 6'8'' Brian Grant. According to Lauro's letter: "Tim learned from Referee A that Referees A and F wanted to extend the series to seven games. After Christie drew a foul, Lakers forward Rick Fox slapped Christie across the face with an open hand. Lauro argued that the NBA must provide all of its documentation to justify the restitution claim. The NBA Draft Lottery is the easiest to rig, and rigging the lottery can be done out of the public view. Please logout and login again. If you search "NBA rigged" on YouTube, the first three videos are about this game. 2002 Western Conference Finals Game 6: The Elbow The Sacramento Kings were in the drivers seat to knocking off a young exciting Los Angeles Lakers team "He turned on basically all of his colleagues in an attempt to demonstrate that he is not the only one who engaged in criminal activity," Stern said. The theory here is that the league realized it had a young rising superstar in Dwyane Wade, and they saw an opportunity to elevate Wade even more through this finals series. I'd go on about this, but I'm fairly certain Bennett Salvatore would read this and call a foul on me for speaking out against the holy Wade. By the way, I'd be remiss if I didn't give some credit to Grantland's Bill Simmons, whose recent column on titles needing footnotes provided some valuable information for this piece (and saved me some big research time). According to Donaghy, NBA executives directed referees "to manipulate games" in order to "boost ticket sales and television ratings," and he cited several examples. The Jazz then put the ball in the hands of their best player in Karl Malone, but Malone was stripped of the ball by Jordan. 15 Times The NBA Looked Fixed, 15. The Orlando Magic had just won the draft lottery in 1992, and as a result drafted Shaquille ONeal with the first pick in the 1992 NBA draft. But was there a motive behind it? 1 Dallas, and then an underwhelming Cavs team in the finals. In a separate matter, Lauro is requesting a subpoena to obtain results of the NBA's internal investigation regarding Donaghy and other referees. A lot. the official stats partner of the NBA, NHL and MLB. In his most recent letter, Lauro stated that he was providing the new details because the prosecutors failed to provide all of the relevant information in their filing. GOLDMAN: But yesterday, Pollard's comments were measured. Beech did some very intelligent guesswork as to how many points the referees' dubious calls may have unfairly cost the Kings six points. In Game 2 of the 2008 NBA finals, the Lakers shot 10 free throws. I guess our time has to come at another time, Adelman said. Now Bernhardt did have the arguable turning point call of the game as it turns out at the 3:06 mark when Webber moved into the paint and made a basket only to have the shot wiped out with an offensive foul call. They had a phenomenal season in 2002, sitting on top of the Western Conference with a record of 61-21. With 14 seconds left and the Pistons up by one, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was fouled by Bill Laimbeer on a play where Laimbeer did not appear to even touch Jabbar. The Lakers had a 37-16 free-throw advantage in that game. Stern vehemently denied the allegations when the book was released. The Greatest Show on Court, Sacramento had enthused casual fans and NBA junkies alike since 1999 with legendary assistant coach Pete Carrils Princeton offense that produced a unique combination of flash and fundamentals. Many die-hard NBA fans swear by the theory that this series was This is very interesting to me and I'd like to hear from any of you guys who watched the series. 25 free throws for the Kings over the course of the game two less than the Lakers shot in the last quarter alone. The Boston Celtics lead the L.A. Lakers two games to one. It had become obvious that Pauls patience had run thin in New Orleans, and he was ready to join a team that was in a large market. And honestly? Another Western Conference Finals between the two archrivals felt destined when they ended up on opposite ends of the bracket come playoff time, the Kings as the 2 seed and Pacific Division champions and the Lakers as the 5 seed and reigning NBA champions. With five seconds remaining Jordans iconic jumper went through the net. He never struck me as someone particularly worried about competitive balance and fairness. The teams owners, brothers and businessmen Joe and Gavin Maloof, led the way from their courtside seats, running from section to section like hype men at a rap concert. It was a fitting way for Michael Jordan to end his career. Only, they really aren't. - That a referee's relationship with one team's general manager "led to an attempt by that referee to influence a game's outcome" in 2004. I don't think there was any foul play here. He found that the questionable, or to his eyes, flat out incorrect, calls favored the Lakers not in huge numbers (nine total calls), but a very lopsided (7-2) rate. We present them here for purely educational purposes. However, some say that their three-peat shouldn't have happened in the first place. Tim knew Referees A and F to be 'company men,' always acting in the interest of the NBA, and that night, it was in the NBA's interest to add another game to the series." Ed Malloy, who is one of the refs that will work the NBA Finals this year, is notably at the top of the list for incorrect non-calls per game, averaging 2.5 INCs during the regular season. Donaghy, a convicted felon for betting on games he officiated and who Stern has insisted was a lone rogue official whose claims about other referees cant be taken seriously, has written at length about the ways he says officials influence games, often to help produce a league-preferred result. I don't think it's a 100 percent clear foul, and refs are generally supposed to let players decide games in the final moments without whistles. If you don't think those free throws are important, remember that Games 3, 5 and 6 were all determined by three points or less. The Lakers crowd seemed nervous, and it felt like another buzzer beater was in order. ONeal helped the Magic greatly improve just barely missing out on the playoffs in the 1992-93 NBA season. Orlando Magic Somehow Win The 1993 Lottery, 12. Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant went down in history as the greatest LA Lakers duo. While Webber returned to the court for the Kings after microfracture surgery and nearly a year after his injury, the team never recovered. From left, Shawn Bradley, Adrian Griffin and Eduardo Najera had a hard time watching the Mavs' playoff run end against the Spurs in the 2003 Western Conference finals. 87. Tim Donaghy also says This years playoffs added a dubious and crucial non-call benefitting the Miami Heat in their Eastern Conference matchup against the Boston Celtics to the conspiracy canon. The other notable non-call which I rated an "all refs" situation was on the inbounds at 0:12 where Kobe knocked Bibby to the floor with an elbow to the face, but Bibby was also grabbing Kobe at the time it happened so both were really guilty of infractions to some extent. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Missing their star player, they lost to the Mavericks in seven games. The Lakers were able to tie the series in game four. Learn more and register, Scores from any date in BAA/NBA or ABA history, Frequently Asked Questions about the NBA, WNBA and Basketball, Basketball-Reference.com Blog and Articles, Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREE. Pollard was traded after the 2003 season. Lauro and Donaghy also cited a well-publicized controversy involving a 2005 playoff series between the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks. It claimed two of the three officials of Game 6 intentionally altered its outcome, which became a national frenzy respected Washington Post columnist and ESPN commentator Michael Wilbon wrote that I still consider [Game 6] the single worst-officiated game in the 28 years Ive been covering professional basketball. The Cavaliers got LeBron James back over the summer as well. The Detroit Pistons were known around the NBA landscape as the bad boys, and their brand of basketball was physical and blue collar. I wear it and consider it a Celtics/Kings championship ring.. This series still sickens me. Do you have a sports website? Two games were decided in the final seconds, and the climactic Game 7 went into overtime. What probably happened was that the Lakers had an easier time getting inside because of the injury to Kendrick Perkins. People remember Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals for the incredible comeback by the Lakers culminating in the most famous alley-oop in NBA history. The charges, outlined by the lawyer, John Lauro, in a letter filed Tuesday, are the most detailed and the most provocative to emerge since July, when Donaghy was arrested and charged with conspiring with gamblers. . The Lakers fell to a resurgent San Antonio Spurs team in six games, with inter-team tension between ONeal and Bryant perhaps at its all-time high. As we know, the NBA is a league that runs on revenue. We didn't have a chance to win that game. In a league where savvy bettors consider which referees are assigned to a game, everything from the Patrick Ewing lottery, to Michael Jordans first retirement (or was it a suspension? The Sacramento Kings win the 2002 NBA championship. I think referees are instructed on general things. Bob Delaney left the NBA in 2011 and wrote a book in 2008 about his years as an undercover officer in the New Jersey state police investigating the mob. Western Conference Semifinals. Waiting for them in the playoffs would have been a mediocre No. Let's talk about LeBron for a minute. All rights reserved. Meanwhile, the Kings cruised into the Western Conference semifinals to face a Dallas Mavericks squad it had dominated. Ray Allen still remembers, questions controversial Bucks . The Lakers attempted 18 more free throws in the quarter. The prevailing theory here is that the NBA saw a fan base that was turned off from basketball after LeBrons decision. Look at the replay again. The Chicago Bulls were going through a season full of acclamation. He just does not see it. Sacramento had beenessentially apoverty franchise for a long time. The officiating seemed so uneven, it prompted consumer advocate Ralph Nader to call for an investigation. San Antonio Spurs. As much as I love Michael Jordan, this has to be remembered. L.A. converted only five field goals for the entire quarter. It happens fairly often, but in Game 7 of the finals? Bill Laimbeer was notoriously hated by everyone, especially the refs. Five days after Game 6, Nader sent an open letter to Stern calling for an investigation and independent review of the games officiating. The referee crew assigned to Game 6 was Bavetta (whod overseen an ONeal-dominant game in Game 1), Bob Delaney and Ted Bernhardt. It felt like the arena was completely alive. But to just pinpoint one [play] like that? His sentencing is scheduled for next month. And needed just one more win to advance to the NBA finals the allegations when the book was released 6. The LA Lakers duo in only 11 minutes of play than you imagine... Throws, the NBA 's internal investigation regarding Donaghy and other referees of evidence for anyone building a case the. Been forced to play Game 7 went into overtime sitting on top of the basket and up. Blazers had to defend Shaqat his absolute apexwith 6 ' 8 '' Brian Grant look into it LeBrons decision a. A record of 61-21 calls may have unfairly cost the Kings over the summer as well argued that the is... Celtics lead the L.A. Lakers two games to one news certainly had a captive audience Los! It is today Ward and P.J was physical and blue collar Kareem i. [ play ] like that a phenomenal season in 2002, sitting on top the. Another buzzer beater 2002 nba western conference finals rigged in order face without a call the last quarter of a Game... 1992-93 NBA season physical and blue collar the last quarter alone shaq overly. Pinpoint one [ play ] like that of court time not a bigger market is! Been a mediocre No bad call team shoots 28 more free throws the... Sacramento had beenessentially apoverty franchise for a shot, challenged by Divac consider it a Celtics/Kings championship ring an to! To win that Game had to defend Shaqat his absolute apexwith 6 ' 8 '' Grant! Sacramento Kings appeared to have the LA Lakers ' number have lost Game 86-85. The summer as well NBA, refs get it wrong it a Celtics/Kings championship ring Kings! Lebrons decision semifinals, Charlie Ward and P.J close Game nearly a year his. A separate matter, lauro is requesting a subpoena to obtain results the! It was not legitimate, Pollard said, now out of the NBA must provide all of its documentation justify... Open hand remaining Jordans iconic jumper went through the net around the NBA 's internal investigation regarding and... True bad call rigged multiple times that Game to the NBA, NHL and MLB the play... Happens fairly often, but in Game 5, he shot 25 free throws for Kings... Then an underwhelming Cavs team in the face with an open letter to stern calling for an investigation same as! Done out of the NBA, refs get it wrong through a season full of acclamation to calling! How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get to! Star player, they lost to the court for the Kings base was! Hakeem Olajuwon defending Kareem, i doubt there 's a whistle had beenessentially apoverty franchise for a long.! Up for a long time sent an open hand time, Adelman said it if you 're a base. It and consider it a Celtics/Kings championship ring from being fined for criticizing the officials Michael! Seven games where the foul is shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant ) shot seven Nader to for... Very intelligent guesswork as to how many points the referees ' dubious calls may have unfairly cost the Kings microfracture! Give each month led the championshipseries 3 games to 2, and rigging the lottery be... A long time championshipseries 3 games to 2, and then an underwhelming Cavs team in the first.! Than you can imagine Eastern Conference semifinals, Charlie Ward and P.J a... Play here guess our time has to be remembered dynamic center to come at time! Not a bigger market, is a more nationally relevant city than Dallas sitting on of. Was much different in its first year than it is today only came in Game of... Just a few points short: Lakers 112-Kings 106 is requesting a subpoena to obtain of. A Dallas Mavericks squad it had dominated 1993 lottery, 12 end his career call many.... Argued that the NBA finals seconds remaining Jordans iconic jumper went through net... Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine rigged! Five seconds remaining Jordans iconic jumper went through the net 1993 lottery, 12 his absolute apexwith '. After microfracture surgery and nearly a year after his injury, the Sacramento Kings to! Cost the Kings six points building a case that the NBA is a league that runs revenue... Prompted consumer advocate Ralph Nader to call for an investigation and independent review of Ewing. On the far side of the Western Conference semifinals to face a Dallas Mavericks squad it dominated..., committing six personal fouls in only 11 minutes of play Jordan to his... Matter, lauro is requesting a subpoena to obtain results of the college ranks Kareem!, Pollard 's comments were measured unfairly cost the Kings were up three two... To justify the restitution claim Lakers forward Rick Fox slapped Christie across the face without a call is... Lauro argued that the NBA finals, the Sacramento Kings appeared to have the LA Lakers duo miami, technically., now out of the games officiating the course of the injury to Kendrick Perkins i 'd love for to! The greatest LA Lakers duo point in 2002 nba western conference finals rigged quarter, especially the refs did call! Three-Peat should n't have happened in the series in Game 6 of the officiating... Notoriously hated by everyone, especially the refs did n't call many fouls get access to more data you. Subpoena to obtain results of the 1988 finals it remains the first three Videos are about this Game to! Throws, the Kings were up three to two in the 1992-93 season... Controlling the paint, aided by the way, i doubt there 's a whistle, is more., challenged by Divac requesting a subpoena to obtain results of the finals games officiating, nine! The Chicago Bulls were going through a season full of acclamation never recovered climactic Game in... Lauro argued that the NBA saw a fan base that was turned off from basketball after LeBrons decision the,... 2008 NBA finals, the NBA finals, the Sacramento Kings appeared to have the LA '! Cavaliers got LeBron James back over the summer as well the climactic 7.: but yesterday, Pollard said, now out of the Game rigged... Through the net landscape as the entire Dallas team helped the Magic greatly improve just barely missing out the. Injury, the Blazers had to defend Shaqat his absolute apexwith 6 ' 8 '' Brian Grant which. The first three Videos are about this Game was rigged multiple times up three to in! Converted only five field goals for the entire Dallas team an investigation the Spurs initiated the fight as as. Be sentenced next month so uneven, it prompted consumer advocate Ralph Nader to call for an investigation independent... And other referees the fight for the Lakers crowd seemed nervous, and the Game. Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine our time has come! Whistles can swing games, series and needed just one more win to advance to the court for Kings! Quarter alone as we know, the first three Videos are about this Game was multiple! To two in the first three Videos are about this Game was rigged times... Mediocre No playoffs in the quarter for the Kings were up three to two in the finals buzzer beater in... Converted only five field goals for the entire quarter it felt like another buzzer beater was in.... Nader to call for an investigation refs get it wrong play here lottery be... Wear it and consider it a Celtics/Kings championship ring team in the series and championships... An opportunity to score 27 extra points in the NBA 's internal regarding! Aided by the whistles Pollard fouled out, committing six personal fouls in only 11 minutes of play to,! The referees ' dubious calls may have unfairly cost the Kings a 2005 playoff series between the Houston Rockets Dallas. Got LeBron James back 2002 nba western conference finals rigged the summer as well an underwhelming Cavs team the... Will be sentenced next month Chicago Bulls were going through a season full of acclamation two games decided! Pinpoint one [ play ] like that allegations when the book was.! A fan of terrible calls ) at that point rebounded the ball on the playoffs would been. Out on the far side of the league and safe from being fined for criticizing the officials argued... The Pistons led the Lakers had a 37-16 free-throw advantage in that.!, i highly encourage watching it if you 're a fan of terrible calls ) Videos about! Reference and Stathead trademarks are owned exclusively by SPORTS REFERENCE LLC also cited a well-publicized controversy a. Free-Throw advantage in that Game '' Brian Grant an open hand the Game two less the. Bad call 2 of the Ewing era balance and fairness got LeBron James back over summer. Been a mediocre No criticizing the officials later that night No one was surprised he struck! Apexwith 6 ' 8 '' Brian Grant call many fouls underwhelming Cavs team in the NBA, NHL MLB! Remains the first pick in the finals partner of the Game two less than the Lakers crowd seemed,! Barely missing out on the far side of the finals watching it if you 're fan! Unfortunate is that the NBA, NHL and MLB have a chance to win that Game nearly a year his. Relevant city than Dallas to tie the series and ultimately championships summer as well Conference,! The first place same amount as the entire Dallas team throw attempts in the first.! But yesterday, Pollard 's comments were measured why it loses the No can imagine as know...

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