Associated Press
NEW YORK ó The NBA admitted Chauncey Billupsí 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter of Mondayís Detroit-Orlando playoff game should not have counted, but it said referees werenít allowed to review instant replay to determine that.
League president Joel Litvin also said the disputed shot, which gave Detroit a 78-76 lead in its 100-93 victory, could not have been replayed after the clock malfunction was discovered.
iAfter reviewing the video of last nightís Pistons-Magic game, we determined that the play that concluded with Chauncey Billupsí 3-point field goal at the end of the third quarter took approximately 5.7 seconds,î Litvin said in a statement. iBecause there were only 5.1 seconds remaining in the quarter when the play began, the shot would not have counted had the clock continued to run.î
Billups was bringing the ball up the court for the Pistons when the clock froze at 4.8 seconds because of a problem with the arenaís timing system. After he made the shot, the game referees had to estimate how long the play took without the aid of replay because the leagueís rules donít allow for reviewing a play to determine when the clock started.
The league said the timekeeper who worked the game was from a ineutralî city, standard procedure for all games. After the game, Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said the referees indicated it took 4.6 seconds to complete the play.
ROCKETS
HOUSTON ó Tracy McGrady had arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder and left knee Tuesday.