NBA Grants Miami Heat's Protest After Scoring Error in Atlanta
By Bob Bensch
<!-- WARNING: #foreach: $wnstory.ATTS: null at /bb/data/web/templates/webmacro_en/20601079.wm:271.2 --> <!-- WARNING: #foreach: $wnstory.ATTS: null at /bb/data/web/templates/webmacro_en/20601079.wm:285.19 --> Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) -- The National Basketball Association upheld the Miami Heat's protest of an overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks in which Shaquille O'Neal fouled out because of a scoring mistake and ordered the final 51.9 seconds replayed.
It's the first protest upheld by the NBA in almost 26 years.
Miami protested the Dec. 19 game after the official scorers in Atlanta incorrectly disqualified O'Neal with six fouls. The error occurred when O'Neal was credited with a fifth foul with 3:24 remaining in the fourth quarter that should have been called on Udonis Haslem, the NBA said in a statement.
NBA Commissioner David Stern found the Hawks, who won 117- 111, were ``grossly negligent'' for failing to follow league- mandated scoring procedures and respond effectively when the statistics crew noticed the mistake, the league's statement said. Stern fined Atlanta $50,000 for the violation, the NBA said.
The final 51.9 seconds of the game will be replayed, with the Hawks leading 114-111, prior to the teams' next scheduled game at March 8 at Phillips Arena in Atlanta.
The last protest upheld in the NBA was on Dec. 14, 1982, when then-Commissioner Larry O'Brien granted San Antonio's case in a double-overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. The game was finished on April 13 with San Antonio winning 117-114.
To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Bensch in New York at bbensch@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: January 11, 2008 16:52 EST
By Bob Bensch
<!-- WARNING: #foreach: $wnstory.ATTS: null at /bb/data/web/templates/webmacro_en/20601079.wm:271.2 --> <!-- WARNING: #foreach: $wnstory.ATTS: null at /bb/data/web/templates/webmacro_en/20601079.wm:285.19 --> Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) -- The National Basketball Association upheld the Miami Heat's protest of an overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks in which Shaquille O'Neal fouled out because of a scoring mistake and ordered the final 51.9 seconds replayed.
It's the first protest upheld by the NBA in almost 26 years.
Miami protested the Dec. 19 game after the official scorers in Atlanta incorrectly disqualified O'Neal with six fouls. The error occurred when O'Neal was credited with a fifth foul with 3:24 remaining in the fourth quarter that should have been called on Udonis Haslem, the NBA said in a statement.
NBA Commissioner David Stern found the Hawks, who won 117- 111, were ``grossly negligent'' for failing to follow league- mandated scoring procedures and respond effectively when the statistics crew noticed the mistake, the league's statement said. Stern fined Atlanta $50,000 for the violation, the NBA said.
The final 51.9 seconds of the game will be replayed, with the Hawks leading 114-111, prior to the teams' next scheduled game at March 8 at Phillips Arena in Atlanta.
The last protest upheld in the NBA was on Dec. 14, 1982, when then-Commissioner Larry O'Brien granted San Antonio's case in a double-overtime loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. The game was finished on April 13 with San Antonio winning 117-114.
To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Bensch in New York at bbensch@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: January 11, 2008 16:52 EST
