Jackson wants NBA to rewind further into Game 4
LAKERS
The Lakers coach wants the league to say whether Derek Fisher's shot hit the rim on the next to last play of the game against the Spurs.
The NBA made a statement. Phil Jackson was hoping it would be more complete.
The league said Wednesday night that San Antonio guard Brent Barry should have been awarded two free throws after being bumped by Derek Fisher near the end of Game 4 on Tuesday. The Lakers won that game to take a 3-1 lead over the Spurs in their best-of-seven game playoff series.
But the Lakers' coach said today he was hoping there would also be a ruling by the league on the previous possession in Game 4.
Fisher's 17-foot shot with 6.9 seconds left appeared to graze the rim before hitting Spurs forward Robert Horry and falling out of bounds. The referees, however, said Fisher's shot was an air ball, leaving the Lakers with only two seconds left on the shot clock. Kobe Bryant's hasty turnaround 16-footer was short, and the Spurs gained possession with 2.1 seconds to play.
"What did they say about the 24-second clock?" Jackson asked rhetorically. "They didn't want to go all the way? You've got to start peeling that onion a long way back, don't you, if you start opening it up."
The Fisher-Barry play began with the San Antonio down, 93-91, and the Spurs inbounding the ball after a time-out. There was contact when Barry drew Fisher into the air with a pump fake above the three-point line, but the referees did not make a call.
A day later, the league said a two-shot foul should have been awarded to Barry because his path was impeded by Fisher. Barry was not in the act of shooting, but he would have received two free throws because the Lakers would have been over the limit for fouls in the quarter.
"That's their discretion to do that kind of stuff," Jackson said of the league. "If everybody's appeased by that, then we move forward. We don't have to replay the game, do we?"
Game 5 is tonight at Staples Center.
mike.bresnahan@latimes.com
