NBA

Heat, Hawks to replay final 0:51.9 of game

Scorekeeper incorrectly said Shaq had fouled out; will be replayed March 8

Tami Chappell / AP

Miami Heat center Shaquille O'Neal shoots over Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford in the first quarter of their game on Dec. 19, 2007 in Atlanta. The final 51.9 seconds of the game must be replayed after the official scorer incorrectly ruled that O'Neal had fouled out.

The Hawks went from .500 to two games under (15-17) in one day, though they still hold the eighth — and final — spot in the East. Imagine if they lose the replay, then miss the playoffs by one game.

“Bottom line is we’re here to try to make the playoffs,” coach Mike Woodson said. “You’ve got to live with it. We’ll face those 51 seconds in March.”

The NBA requires the official scorers to coordinate foul calls with the rest of the stat crew during every timeout. That apparently didn’t happen in this case, resulting in the mistake going unnoticed until after the game, when the Hawks put out revised boxes showing O’Neal with six fouls.

“Other than filing the protest, I haven’t given it any thought since then. It wasn’t until everybody started doing some research on all of the things that went on behind the scenes,” Riley said.

“I don’t really know what the checks and balances are for fouls and how they’re done. I think the league felt we probably deserved an opportunity to go back and play the last 51 seconds.”

Especially because this involved Atlanta, where another statistical problem occurred just last season.

On Nov. 24, 2006, the official scorer failed to credit Toronto’s T.J. Ford with a basket that would have given the Raptors a late tie and an opportunity to change the outcome of a 97-93 loss.

“Because of this conduct by Atlanta’s personnel, Miami suffered a clear competitive disadvantage, as O’Neal — the Heat’s second-leading scorer and rebounder that night — was removed from a one-point game with only 51.9 seconds remaining,” the NBA statement said.

On the NBA’s official Web site, those final 51 seconds have already been wiped from the books. The Dec. 19 schedule shows 12 games as finals, but the one in Atlanta is still in progress. The box score and play-by-play are on hold.

Al Horford hit two free throws after O’Neal’s foul to put the Hawks up 114-111. That’s where the game will resume.

Miami’s ball.

“It’s always something with the Hawks,” Atlanta’s Tyronn Lue said. “It’s a bad business, man, but we’ll get through it.”

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