Los Angeles (AFP)
The NBA on Monday rejected the appeal by the Houston Rockets, who claimed the invalidation of a defeat against San Antonio for a dunk denied James Harden they denounced as an arbitration error.
The Houston Rockets had been beaten 135 to 133 after two extra time on Tuesday by the San Antonio Spurs. Nearly 8 minutes from the end of the match, the Rockets star slammed a dunk so powerful that the ball is ironed over the circle with the help of the net, giving the impression of a basket failed. On which the referees did not give the two points to Houston, who led then 104-89.
The action would have remained innocuous if Spurs, at the price of a fantastic comeback, had not ripped a first extension, before winning in the second.
The Rockets were hoping for two options: either the result was invalidated and the victory was awarded, or the end of the game was replayed after Harden's dunk, as was the case in 2008 for a Miami-Atlanta match after a wrongful expulsion of Shaquille O'Neal.
In a statement, League Commissioner Adam Silver admitted that the referees had misapplied the rules by not allowing the coach of Houston the opportunity to "challenge" (request a review of images) this arbitration decision. After the meeting, the head of the referee corps, James Capers, had himself admitted an error.
Silver, however, believes that "the Houston Rockets have had the time to overcome this error," between the nearly eight minutes that remained then to play in the fourth quarter and two extra time that followed.
This defeat, the Houston Rockets remain in the fourth place of the Western Conference with a record of 15 wins for 7 losses.
© 2019 AFP