The inside-out shirt protest by NBA officials over the suspension of referee Michael Henderson apparently ended after one day.
Officials Dick Bavetta, Tony Brown and Leroy Richardson all wore their shirts the conventional way as NBA play resumed Saturday with the Miami Heat on the road against the New Jersey Nets.
PHOTO: AP
Referees at all 10 NBA games Friday night were expected to take part in the protest, although officials Eddie F. Rush and Nolan Fine worked the Grizzlies-Bucks game in Milwaukee and did not. The third member of their crew, Rodney Mott, wore his shirt inside out with No. 62 magic-markered on the back.
"Last night's display was woefully inconsistent with the professionalism with which NBA officials normally conduct themselves," commissioner David Stern said in a statement released Saturday. "There is nothing more to say at this time."
Players from the Nets and Heat supported the officials
"I'm proud of them," Nets All-Star guard Jason Kidd said before Saturday's game. "That's good, unity. They stayed together. It's freedom of speech. They have to deal with the league about that. Most of them turned their shirts inside out, that was pretty clever."
Nets coach Lawrence Frank, who got his fourth technical in the game since taking over in late January, respected the officials' action.
"There are times in life where you have to take a stand for what you believe, and as a group I have to have respect for it," Frank said.
Henderson was taken off three job assignments after making a bad call at the end of Wednesday night's Lakers-Nuggets game. The NBA acknowledged on Thursday that Henderson missed a shot hitting the rim and erred making a 24-second violation call.
"You have to respect any group that pulls together and supports one of their own," Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said.
Neither Frank nor Van Gundy had opinions on the play.
Miami forward Brian Grant said the ruling shows everyone is ultimately answerable to the league.
"If a call is made and the NBA reviews it and they said it's grounds for a suspension, it's the same way it's grounds for a suspension if we say something to a referee," Grant said. "Nobody is above being policed by the NBA."
While unaware of Friday's protest, Heat forward Lamar Odom said the officials have a tough job.
"We sometimes get caught up, getting at them," he said. "But I remember going to basketball camp and refereeing a game and it was really difficult, especially when you have people riding you all the time."
Nets 92, Heat 86
Kenyon Martin had 18 points, 15 rebounds and an incredible late block, and the New Jersey Nets got back on track after losing for the first time under Lawrence Frank with a 92-86 win over the Miami Heat on Saturday.
Richard Jefferson added 25 points and Kidd had four free throws in the final 21.2 seconds to cap a 20-point effort.
The win was the Nets 15th in 16 games overall, and their 14th in 15 games since Frank replaced Byron Scott as coach of the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions in late January.
Eddie Jones had 21 points to lead Miami, which lost its second straight after winning a season high-tying four games in a row.
Lakers 122, Wizards 110
In Washington, Kobe Bryant's first triple-double of the season helped the Los Angeles Lakers pull away in the fourth quarter for a victory over Washington.
Bryant finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, and came up big for the Lakers in several key moments.
Gilbert Arenas finished with 35 points for the Wizards on 12-of-23 shooting. He tied a franchise record set by Rex Chapman in 1994 by making eight 3-pointers.
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