HoopsHype.com Rumors

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant should have been called for a foul on Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio on the final play of the Lakers' 120-117 victory Wednesday, the NBA announced Thursday. "Video review by the league office confirmed that Kobe Bryant fouled Rubio while Rubio was in his shooting motion. Rubio should have been awarded three free throws," the league said on its website. USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Kobe Bryant, Ricky Rubio, Referees 

That call didn’t effect the game too much (the Bulls scored 1 point on the ensuing free throws plus possession). After the game, Dwyane Wade talked about his teammate’s reaction. “I’m surprised he hasn’t done it before,” Wade said. “A big guy like (James), no one really wants to see him start trying to inflict pain on other people. He plays the game the right way and it’s unfortunate. He gets reffed like a guy that was in this Miami Heat jersey before, Shaquille O’Neal. ”It’s tough, but that’s why he is who he is. You’ve got to deal with it. Tonight, he decided to get back a little bit. I didn’t think it was that bad, but he got called for it.” Arlington Heights Daily Herald

Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Referees 

The NBA has retroactively assessed Golden State Warriors forward David Lee a flagrant foul 1 for his hit to the face of Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard, according to a Lakers spokesman. Howard said it was too little, too late following the Lakers' 120-117 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. "I don't really care," Howard said. "It's late now. There's nothing we can do about it." ESPN.com

Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard, David Lee, Referees 

The Bulls trailed the Nuggets 119-118 with the clock winding down in overtime. Marco Belinelli's basebline shot came up short, but Noah was there to tip in the miss and give Chicago a one-point lead. However, the officials gathered, consulted video of the play and declared Noah was guilty of offensive interference. Needless to say, Thibodeau was not happy with the ruling. He shouted at officials Kevin Fehr, Ken Mauer and Kane Fitzgerald and had to be restrained by an assistant and eventually by forward Luol Deng. USA Today Sports

Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, Tom Thibodeau, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Marco Belinelli, Referees 

After two tough calls that sealed Monday night's emotional 119-118 overtime loss to the Nuggets, the Bulls will make one more on Tuesday. "I guess we have to call the league to get an interpretation," an angry coach Tom Thibodeau said. The dispute centered on two calls in the final 46.4 seconds, both of which went against the Bulls. Chicago Tribune

Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, Tom Thibodeau, Referees 

Noah, using two expletives, said officials called "basket" on the floor. "It's very disappointing," Noah said. "You play the game so hard. I just don't understand how you can review my tip-in, but two plays before that, you can't review the other one? There has to be consistency. The refs are doing the best they can. But it cost us the game." Added Carlos Boozer: "They counted the bucket, put the points up on the board. We're obviously excited and celebrating. Their bench started screaming to review and (officials) reviewed and took it away." Chicago Tribune

Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, Joakim Noah, Referees 

Bucks center Larry Sanders was issued a hefty $50,000 fine for using a derogatory and offensive term and publicly criticizing officials, the NBA announced Sunday. Sanders was ejected with 2 minutes 44 seconds left in the Bucks' 107-94 loss to Miami on Friday. He "directed a derogatory and offensive term" to the officials and was ejected, according to a statement from Stu Jackson, NBA executive vice president of basketball operations. Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Milwaukee Bucks, Larry Sanders, Referees 

The fine also related to public criticism of officials. "I can imagine it's hard for a referee to ref a Miami Heat game," Sanders said in his post-game comments. "It's hard for me to take that sometimes. I feel like things are kind of swayed. Maybe (I should) care a little less." Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Milwaukee Bucks, Larry Sanders, Referees 

Chris Vivlamore: Dahntay Jones on NBA video review: "That stuff is out of my control. ... What they made is a judgment call and that is their job." #ATLHawks Twitter @ajchawks

Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Referees, Dahntay Jones 

Arash Markazi: Dahntay Jones tells @dpshow "I don't think we would be dealing with this at all if it were anybody except Kobe." Twitter @ArashMarkazi

Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Referees, Dahntay Jones 

Referees should have called Atlanta Hawks forward Dahntay Jones for a foul on Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant in the final seconds of Atlanta's victory Wednesday, the NBA announced Thursday. With five seconds remaining and the Lakers trailing 94-92 in the fourth quarter, Bryant took a 18-foot fadeaway baseline jumper and missed. With Jones putting pressure on the shot, Bryant landed on Jones' foot with 4.9 seconds left and sustained a severely sprained left ankle. He is out indefinitely, hurting the Lakers' playoff chances. USA Today Sports

Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Referees, Dahntay Jones 

Mike Bresnahan: NBA expected to send out a release in which it says a foul should have been called and two shots awarded on the Kobe-Dahntay Jones play. Twitter @Mike_Bresnahan

Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Referees, Dahntay Jones 

Upon further review, J. R. Smith should not have been ejected from Monday night’s loss against the Golden State Warriors. The N.B.A. on Tuesday downgraded the flagrant foul assessed to Smith, to a “penalty one” from a “penalty two.” That was little consolation to the Knicks, who lost Smith, their second-best scorer, with 6 minutes 51 seconds left in the third quarter, as they faced a 24-point deficit. A flagrant foul-2 triggers an automatic ejection, while a flagrant foul-1 does not. “It is upsetting, but what are you going to do?” Coach Mike Woodson said. “Hey, he got ejected and they felt they made the right call. It turned out it wasn’t the right call. Hey, we got to live with it and keep it moving.” New York Times

New York Knicks, JR Smith, Referees 

Some checking with the league office this week revealed that Stu Jackson & Co. deemed Ibaka's contact with Griffin's, uh, groin area to be unintentional. The league view, I'm told, is that Ibaka was slapping at an arm that Griffin unexpectedly pulled away, leading to the painful connection and thus distinguishing the play from the "groin altercations" that earned Wade and DeMarcus Cousins suspensions earlier this season. ESPN.com

Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Blake Griffin, Serge Ibaka, Referees, Stu Jackson 

Kenyon Martin had a strong defensive game and probably should get more minutes now. He didn’t agree with the flagrant foul that was called on him when he blocked Kevin Durant in fourth quarter and knocked him down. It was a hard foul. The referees reversed the call after reviewing it. “It wasn't a flagrant foul, man,” Martin said. “Even KD said it wasn't a flagrant foul. Everybody said it was a clean block at first but it was just his momentum and my momentum.” Sulia

New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Kevin Durant, Kenyon Martin, Referees 

While World Peace fought his own battle against flagrant fouls, as in the many called against him, he suggested the NBA wasn't protecting Howard from a slew of hard fouls. Howard's response? Hey, thanks. "I don't want a backlash of people thinking I'm trying to cry about stuff, but most of the injuries, or all of the injuries, that I've had the past couple of years have come from fouls," he said in an interview Sunday. "It started with my eyes, and people slapping me in the face. Then I ended up hurting my back because people just jump on my back as I'm coming up [to shoot]. And this season my shoulder. Hopefully it stops here. "I'm not going to stop playing and I'm going to fight through it, but [World Peace] is right. A lot of stuff happens and it just gets overlooked because of my size or whatever." Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard, Referees 

"I'm not complaining about it. I understand it, for the most part. I get fouled almost every single play and I know that the refs are not going to call it," he said. "For me, I just have to play through it and try not to get injured. Sometimes it's tough because I try a quick shot before I get fouled and I end up missing instead of just going up through the contact. As I get stronger, as my body gets back to being where it was before I got injured, I've just got to keep playing through it." Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard, Referees 

Now, he is battling for a rebound there, and he is trying to get his arm. But he has to know, making that motion, what he's doing. You know that if you swing your arm between a guy's legs what you're going to hit. There's no accident here. The officials hit Ibaka with just a Flagrant 1, though, allowing him to stay in the game. He then drew a foul on Griffin, scored on an and-one -- and blocked a late shot by the Thunder. So, you know, good job as always, guys. This one will unquestionably will be reviewed by the league. It would be more of a surprise if he wasn't suspended for this one. CBSSports.com

Oklahoma City Thunder, Serge Ibaka, Referees 

Royce Young: Look at Ibaka's eyes when he takes the swing. He's looking up at the rim. Wasn't exactly looking at where he was chopping. Twitter @dailythunder

Oklahoma City Thunder, Serge Ibaka, Referees 

As a rule, NBA players treat Violet Palmer no differently than her male counterparts, which is the way she likes it. “I’m a referee,” she said, “and I’m there to call a game.” Palmer, 48, has been in the NBA since 1997, when she and Dee Kantner became the first female officials to work for a major professional sports league in the United States. “Back in those early days, I never thought of myself as any kind of pioneer or a barrier breaker,” Palmer said. “I was just getting a chance in a game that I love and was too concerned with doing all of the things right to earn that position. “But as the years have gone by and I’ve been asked to speak at a lot of career days and the subject comes up each year with Black History Month, I have come to understand the significance. I’m proud of having done something that nobody else has done and I’m most hopeful about having opened the doors for other young women in the future.” NBA.com

Referees, Violet Palmer