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NEW YORK: The Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks will
replay the final 51.9 seconds of their December 19 game after the
National Basketball Association upheld a game protest for the first
time since 1982 on Friday.
The Heat protested a scoring
error involving Miami center Shaquille O’Neal in the final seconds
of a 117-111 over-time loss at Atlanta, a mistake NBA Commissioner
David Stern called “grossly negligent.”
Because of the ruling, the
game’s overtime period will be resumed with Atlanta holding a
114-111 lead with 51.9 seconds remaining in the five-minute
over-time session.
The replay will be staged and the
game played to conclusion on March 8 at Atlanta before the next
regularly scheduled meeting between the Southeast division rivals.
No NBA protest of a game had been
granted since former NBA commissioner Larry O’Brien upheld a
protest made by the San Antonio Spurs on December 14, 1982.
With 51.9 seconds remaining in
last month’s encounter between the Hawks and Heat, the official
scorer’s table incorrectly assessed O’Neal with a sixth personal
foul, forcing him to leave the game on accumulated fouls.
But actually, it was only the
fifth foul whistled against “Shaq,” who had been incorrectly
marked for a four late in the fourth quarter that was instead
whistled against Heat forward Udonis Haslem.
“Because of this conduct by
Atlanta’s personnel, Miami suffered a clear competitive
disadvantage,” a league statement said.
“O’Neal—the Heat’s second
leading scorer and rebounder that night—was removed from a
one-point game with only 51.9 seconds remaining.”
Stern fined the Hawks $50,000,
declaring the Hawks’ scoring table employees did not follow NBA
rules and failed to properly respond when notified of their mistake.
--AFP
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