Michael Ventre

LOS ANGELES - Samuel Johnson once said that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. If that is indeed true, then it means Tim Donaghy still has one more option. But before he takes that one final step and blames his crimes on false love of country, he has decided to try and ruin the NBA Finals.

On Tuesday, the disgraced former referee alleged in a Brooklyn, N.Y., court filing that two playoff series in recent years were fixed. He said officials doctored the outcome of a first-round series between the Rockets and Mavericks in 2005, and also a Lakers-Kings fracas back in 2002.

And this charge was leveled on the day of Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the Celtics and Lakers, a few days after the burning issue upon conclusion of Game 2 was the one-sided nature of the foul calls in favor of Boston.

My first thought was Scott Boras. Although the baseball uber agent has never been accused of anything like what brought Donaghy down, they do have curious timing in common. Remember that Boras announced last fall during Game 4 of the World Series that his client Alex Rodriguez would opt out of his contract with the Yankees. He was roundly ripped for the obvious ploy.

Donaghy’s stunt is more obvious. It should be stated that, who knows, he may be telling the truth. But the mere fact that he dropped this bomb when he did has the opposite effect he intended: It makes him look like a weasel who will bring down anyone he can in order to avoid more days, months and years in the slammer.

It probably won’t work. The NBA has had its issues. David Stern may be the best commissioner in sports, but there was a time when he answered every question about the possibility of crooked officials with disdain and condescension. After the Donaghy stuff first broke, a chastened Stern changed his tune.

And if there is one dirty ref, the possibility exists that there could be more. But the most important thing is to consider the source.

Stern should probably remain mum on the subject.

Undoubtedly, he has a crack legal team on the case. Richard Buchanan, the league’s general counsel, issued this statement:

“According to Mr. Donaghy, all of his allegations have previously been made to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney, and they are clearly being disclosed now as part of his desperate attempt to lighten the sentence that will be imposed for his criminal conduct. The NBA remains vigilant in protecting the integrity of our game and has fully cooperated with the government at every stage of its investigation. The only criminal activity uncovered is Mr. Donaghy’s.”

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I would have eliminated the word “desperate” from that missive. It’s a little too Nancy Grace. While the Lakers and Celtics battle — L.A. prevailed in a gripping match Tuesday night, 87-81 — the league should comment succinctly and then let it blow over.

Instead, Stern laid it on thick: “The only concern I have is that when a letter gets filed on behalf of a convicted felon, my concern is that news media run with it as a major blockbuster series of allegations when, in fact, this guy is dancing as fast as he can to throw as much against the wall so his sentence won’t be as hard, put more at risk.”

He had a lot more. Clearly, Stern is riled by this. But the more he comments, the more he focuses the spotlight on Donaghy and turns it away from the Lakers and Celtics.

I’m sure there are lots of suspicious types out there who are convinced these NBA Finals are fixed. But let’s face it, those folks think the NBA Finals are fixed every year. They believe the World Series, Stanley Cup finals and Super Bowl are rigged, too. They probably think Big Brown’s jockey took home a saddlebag full of money after pulling his horse up in the Belmont.

But to those, once again: Consider the source. And have some perspective.

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