"It's a very strange thing," said Popovich, also before the league's statement. "If you talk to an official, the official will tell you that the game is called at the end of the game exactly like it is during the meat of the game. That's their story and they're going to stand by it. In reality, personally, I don't think that's true and I can give a thousand examples that things are called differently down the stretch where I think most referees feel -- and I agree with them -- that things need to be more definitive before you're going to make a call. A referee is going to be hesitant to make a call that could decide a game at the end unless it's really either gross or obvious. So, that's why I said, if I was an official, I would not have called that a foul at the end of the game."
Call is in: It's a foul
NBA says in a statement that Lakers' Fisher should have been penalized for colliding with Spurs' Barry in the closing seconds of Game 4 and two free throws should have been awarded.
Former Lakers guard Norm Nixon, now a television analyst, feels it was up to Barry to force a referee to blow his whistle.
"Refs don't like to make that kind of call to decide a game," Nixon said, "unless it's a hard, hard foul. As it was, at a time like that in a playoff game, I thought it was a good non-call."
Instead of trying to avoid Fisher, Nixon said, Barry should have turned into him, and attempted the shot.
"If he had gone on with the continuation of the play," Nixon said, "it would have been an obvious foul and it would have been called. The problem was, he dribbled away and then took a shot. If you can create contact, you are going to get the call."
Flopping backward to the floor after Fisher banged into him would have been an effective selling point as well.
"When I played and had the ball in a situation like that," Nixon said, "I felt the defender was more afraid of me then I was of him. He was not going to foul me and put me on line. So I felt confident I could get my shot."
For Popovich, it's a dead issue, overshadowed by the specter of elimination.
"It's a tough loss. . . . The players and the coaches are human," he said. "We have to focus [on the] next game in hopes that we can win that game and survive. . . . If you don't let it go, you can't focus on the task at hand."
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Times staff writer Jonathan Abrams contributed to this report.
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steve.springer@latimes.com
