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Blame game Scott says officiating has favored Spurs in FinalsPosted: Tuesday June 10, 2003 7:32 PMUpdated: Tuesday June 10, 2003 11:52 PM
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (Ticker) -- Byron Scott has taken many of his coaching principles and mannerisms from Pat Riley. On Tuesday, he borrowed from Phil Jackson. In the first verbal bombshell of the NBA Finals, the coach of the New Jersey Nets complained about the officiating, pointing out the discrepancy in free throws and the lack of respect being given to forward Kenyon Martin. "In my opinion, the officiating in this series has been a little one-sided," Scott said. The Nets trail the San Antonio Spurs, 2-1, in the best-of-seven series after Sunday's 84-79 loss. In their first setback at home since April 22, New Jersey shot 17 free throws while San Antonio attempted 35 -- a statistic not lost on Scott. "We've been a team all season long that's gone to the free-throw line a ton of times," he said at Tuesday's media session at Continental Airlines Arena. "In this series, for some reason, it's 2-to-1, it seems like. And to me, I think it has a lot to do with the officiating." The discrepancy is not that bad, but it's enough to make Scott take notice. In the first three games of the series, the Nets have attempted just two more free throws than the Spurs have made. New Jersey is 47-of-58 from the line, while San Antonio is 56-of-88. Those numbers have been generated without the Nets intentionally fouling Spurs forward Bruce Bowen, a 40 percent free-throw shooter. They also reflect the end of Game Two, when New Jersey shot six free throws in the final 20 seconds. The Nets have shot less foul shots than the Spurs in all three games. After Game Three, Nets president Rod Thorn -- a former NBA executive who often stood up for the job the referees were doing -- was visibly upset with the officiating. He complained about the referees in Tuesday's editions of the New York Times. The Nets are facing a must-win situation Wednesday night. © 2003 SportsTicker Enterprises, LP
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