In an act of protest, NBA referees turned their jerseys inside-out on Friday night and wore No. 62 -- the number assigned to a disciplined colleague.
Referee Michael Henderson's bad call at the end of Wednesday's Los Angeles Lakers-Denver Nuggets game was publicly acknowledged on Thursday by the NBA.
Henderson was taken off three job assignments and summoned to the league office, the referees' association said.
PHOTO: REUTERS
"An unprecedented job action was taken against one of their colleagues, so an unprecedented response was necessary," said Lamell McMorris, a spokesman and negotiator for the National Basketball Referees Association.
Referees at all 10 NBA games on Friday were expected to wear Henderson's number, McMorris said.
The NBA released a statement from deputy commissioner Russ Granik saying any referees taking part in the protest ``will be subject to appropriate discipline.''
PHOTO: REUTERS
Referees Eddie F. Rush and Nolan Fine worked the Grizzlies-Bucks game and did not take part in the protest, although Rodney Mott, the third referee in their crew, wore his shirt inside out with No. 62 magic-markered on the back.
Henderson, in his second season as an NBA official, mistakenly whistled a shot clock violation after an attempt by Denver's Andre Miller brushed the rim and was rebounded by a teammate.
The officials huddled and ruled it an inadvertent whistle, resulting in a jump ball. The Lakers won the tip and made the game-winning shot with 3.2 seconds left.
"This was an unfortunate call at a highly critical point in the game, and we very much regret the error," NBA vice president Stu Jackson said in a statement on Thursday. He was not immediately available for comment on Friday.
McMorris said Henderson's three-game punishment was unprecedented.
"It's inconsistent with the performance evaluation standards that the league introduced to initiate communication between supervisors and referees," McMorris said. "This has never occurred for a bad call."
The referees are currently in the final season of their five-year collective bargaining agreement with the NBA.
Cavaliers 112, Magic 107
LeBron James scored six of his 30 points in overtime and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 28 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 112-107 victory Friday night over the Orlando Magic.
James, who committed an offensive foul on Cleveland's final possession of regulation, also had 11 rebounds as the Cavaliers won after blowing an 18-point fourth-quarter lead. Carlos Boozer added 17 points and 16 rebounds, and Jeff McInnis had 16 points and 10 assists.
"This guy is no young rookie, he's already a legitimate star in this league," said Magic forward Keith Bogans, who had the defensive assignment on James for much of the fourth quarter and overtime.
The Magic tied the game on three free throws by Tracy McGrady, who was fouled by Boozer on a 3-point attempt with nine seconds to play.
"LeBron is incredible, really," said McGrady, who led Orlando with 35 points. "Nothing rattles him at all. He's extremely confident and a real competitor. At the age of 19, that's scary."
Juwan Howard added 14 points and Drew Gooden had 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Timberwolves 91, Warriors 81
In Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett had 24 points, nine rebounds and nine assists as Minnesota beat Golden State for the first time this season.
Minnesota, which has now defeated every other NBA team this season, lost to the Warriors in both of their previous meetings.
The Wolves took the lead for good when Garnett beat Mike Dunleavy for an offensive rebound and the ball was swung to Fred Hoiberg for a 3-pointer to put Minnesota up 62-59. That basket keyed a 16-4 run that erased a 57-52 Warriors' lead.
Erick Dampier scored a season-high 24 points and had 19 rebounds for Golden State, and Jason Richardson scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half.
Celtics 88, Raptors 75
In Boston, in a matchup of teams with seven-game losing streaks, Paul Pierce scored 21 points and Brandon Hunter grabbed 16 rebounds in his second career start to lead Boston past Toronto.
The seven-game losing streak was the Celtics' longest since they dropped 10 in a row from March 20 to April 7, 2000.
The Raptors, who have dropped to seventh place in the East, held the lead only once in the first quarter and never rebounded from a nearly three-minute scoring drought in which the Celtics took a 30-18 lead.
Boston's advantage swelled to as many as 26 points, 63-37, in the third quarter.
Hornets 89, Pacers 77
In New Orleans, Jamal Mashburn scored 22 and Baron Davis 18, and New Orleans snapped Indiana's four-game winning streak.
Austin Croshere's 3-pointer pulled Indiana to 78-70 with a little over four minutes to go, then Davis took control.
He answered with a 3 of his own, drew a charge on Al Harrington's drive, then slipped a pass underneath to P.J. Brown for a dunk, putting the Hornets up 83-72 with three minutes left. Mashburn's turnaround fade with 2:16 left finished off the Pacers.
Jamaal Magloire finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Brown added 17 points for the Hornets, who are the only team to beat Indiana since the All-Star break.
Pistons 105, Hawks 83
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton each had 20 points, and four other Detroit Pistons scored in double figures to thrash Atlanta.
Rasheed Wallace didn't do much -- and didn't have to -- against the team he played just one game for before being traded to Detroit. He made just two of 10 shots and had six points and six rebounds.
Detroit has won three straight after losing its first two games with Wallace.
Stephen Jackson scored 16 for the Hawks, who have lost four of five, and Bob Sura tied a season high with 14 points.
Rockets 89, Trail Blazers 85
In Houston, Steve Francis had 21 points and a season-high five steals as Houston snapped Portland's five-game winning streak.
Francis fed Maurice Taylor in the lane for a basket with 1:49 to play, then hit a jumper with 1:03 to go for an 89-81 lead.
Cuttino Mobley added 16 points and Yao Ming had 13.
Derek Anderson led Portland with 22 points and Randolph had 17 points and 17 rebounds, three short of his career high.
Bucks 106, Grizzlies 104
In Milwaukee, Keith Van Horn tied his season high with 30 points in his first start for Milwaukee.
Van Horn came off the bench in his first four games after being acquired from New York on Feb. 15, but with Joe Smith out with an injured left ankle he got his first start.
Michael Redd's free throw shot with 22 seconds left gave the Bucks a 105-104 lead, but his second shot hit the front of the rim and Shane Battier grabbed the rebound.
With 5.3 seconds left, Battier caught an inbounds pass from Jason Williams and had a good look at the basket, but he missed the shot from the top of the key.
Suns 104, SuperSonics 99
In Seattle, Amare Stoudemire scored 24 points as Phoenix beat Seattle to win two successive games for the first time since mid-January.
Shawn Marion had 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Suns, who got two crucial baskets from Howard Eisley in the final three minutes. Eisley wound up with 16 points. Joe Johnson added 17, including 10 in the final quarter.
The Suns, who have the worst record in the Western Conference (20-40), won for just the seventh time on the road this season. They ended an eight-game losing streak earlier this week.
Jazz 102, Kings 97
In Sacramento, California, Andrei Kirilenko had 24 points and 14 rebounds as Utah handed Sacramento its fifth home loss of the season.
Kirilenko scored the final four points for Utah, which snapped Sacramento's four-game winning streak.
Peja Stojakovic missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds, and Kirilenko made a fast-break dunk at the final buzzer. Reserve guard Maurice Williams scored 19 points and Raja Bell came off the bench for 15.
Greg Ostertag, who had two key baskets in the final three minutes, finished with eight points and 14 rebounds.
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