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Unhappy ending Ref's call deprives fans of another 'Jordan Moment'Posted: Monday February 10, 2003 2:31 AMUpdated: Monday February 10, 2003 7:07 PM
ATLANTA -- Isiah Thomas smacked his forehead. Antoine Walker rolled his eyes. Vince Carter shook his head in disbelief. To say the Eastern Conference bench was surprised by the foul called on Jermaine O’Neal with one second left in overtime of Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game -- a ruling that enabled Kobe Bryant to tie the score at the foul line and offset Michael Jordan’s earlier heroics -- was an understatement. To hear them tell it, referee Ted Bernhardt did more than muck up Jordan’s final All-Star appearance. He took a Sharpie to the Mona Lisa. "It was MJ’s night," an incredulous O’Neal said as he pulled a skull cap over his head -- perhaps to hide a new set of goat’s horns -- at his locker stall. "A Hail Mary fadeaway to win the game? It doesn’t get any better than that. "That was going to be a legendary shot." Now it’s just going to be Bernhardt -- and O’Neal -- who go down in All-Star infamy. In fairness to the veteran NBA official, there was no dispute about the call. O’Neal basically knocked Bryant to the floor as the Lakers superstar was trying to squeeze off a desperation 3-pointer. Had it been an ordinary game, there would have been little fuss. But if ever circumstances made it acceptable for a zebra to swallow his whistle, this would have been it. An All-Star Game. Jordan’s final show. Twenty thousand fans who have to work the next morning facing the prospect of Atlanta’s massive traffic jams. Best of all, Jordan had just shaken Philips Arena to the core with a vintage 15-foot baseline fadeaway over Suns forward Shawn Marion to give his East team a 138-136 lead. The fact that MJ had failed to deliver on an earlier chance to win the game at the end of regulation only made it more delicious. But in yet another controversy for David Stern’s beleaguered officials this season, Bernhardt played Scrooge and put his rule book over his story book. "They should have never made that call," Jordan joked. "They complained about the refs all year." When the whistle blew, Jordan and his teammates reacted as if they had just witnessed a Brink’s heist. Towels flew in the air above the Eastern bench. Eyes rolled. Thomas, standing on the sideline, smacked his head and exclaimed with mock anguish, "Leave it to a referee to ---- it up!" Indeed, Pacers fans might say Bernhardt’s ruling was just another example of the NBA not giving their team a break. O’Neal smiled at that suggestion Sunday night, though he was no doubt looking for any excuse. After all, he was already getting an earful from teammate Brad Miller at the next locker. "Go ahead. Tell 'em why you committed that dumb foul," Miller cackled. "What were you doing?" Miller’s teasing aside, O’Neal actually got plenty of support from his Eastern teammates. Jordan, he said, laughed it off. The rest of the team expressed dismay. Even Bryant came up and said he couldn’t believe the ref made the call. At least that’s what O’Neal said. The truth, of course, is that O’Neal never should have been in the same area code as Bryant on the final play. It was an All-Star Game, after all. Nobody plays defense in an All-Star Game. But O’Neal apparently didn’t get the memo. As a result, Michael Jordan didn't get another memorable finish.
Marty Burns covers pro basketball for SI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.
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