Controversies arise over goaltending non-calls

Fans of both the Orlando Magic and the Lakers found reasons to complain about officiating after the Lakers' 101-96 overtime victory in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night.

The subject: goaltending.

Most of the attention focused on what happened during the final tenths of a second in regulation -- when the Lakers' Pau Gasol wasn't called for goaltending as he touched the rim while Magic guard Courtney Lee attempted a game-winning layup. Still, it appears that Lakers fans' gripes over a non-goaltending call on Dwight Howard early in the game have more merit.

The more controversial of the two non-calls came as time expired in the fourth quarter with the score tied, 88-88. Lee caught an alley-oop inbounds pass from Hedo Turkoglu and put up a layup that would have won the game for the Magic.

Just as Lee's attempt bounced off the backboard, Gasol's right hand touched the underside of the rim. The ball then hit the outside edge of the rim and sailed away from the basket as the final horn of regulation sounded. The game would go into overtime, and the Lakers went on to win and take a 2-0 lead in the series.

In the first quarter, Howard reached through the hoop to block away a Gasol shot -- a clear violation of the rule book's Rule No. 11, Section 1, Article G, which states that goaltending occurs when a player "touch[es] the ball at any time with a hand which is through the basket ring."

The referees didn't call goaltending on Howard, which saved two points for the Magic.

The non-call on Howard appears to be little more than a mistake by the referees. But why didn't they call goaltending on Gasol and award the Magic two points?

For the answer, turn to Page 39 of the 2008-09 Official Rules of the National Basketball Association. Rule No. 11, Section I, Article H states that a player will not "vibrate the rim, net or backboard so as to cause the ball to make an unnatural bounce, or bend or move the rim to an off-center position when the ball is touching the ring or passing through."

By not calling goaltending, referees determined that Gasol's action didn't vibrate the goal to such a degree that it caused "an unnatural bounce."

"If you're interpreting from the rule book, I would not have called that a goaltend last night because the contact with the rim was pretty mild," ESPN NBA analyst Tim Legler said in a phone interview Monday.