A Refresher on Kings-Lakers Game 6, 2002

As Brinson relayed, Tim Donaghy has alleged the NBA and two referees conspired to fix a playoff game in 2002 in order to provide for a high-ratings Game 7. Only one series in 2002 went to seven games: Kings-Lakers in conference finals. How funny, that's a Game 6 with is the first example anyone brings up when discussing monumental miscarriages of NBA justice.

In said Game 6 -- which makes me queasy on memory to this day -- the Lakers took 27 free throws in the fourth quarter (the Kings had 9). Scot Pollard fouled out in 11 minutes. Vlade Divac battled foul trouble the entire night and finally got disqualified with three minutes left. Chris Webber -- never confused for a banger -- had foul trouble and finished with five. Both Vlade and Webber received techs in the first half. Shaquille O'Neal took 17 FTs, and Kobe Bryant 11. Sacramento was called for a stunning 31 personal fouls ... and lost by 4. Coach Rick Adelman had this to say to reporters after the game:

"It's a shame, a real shame. ... Our big guys get 20 fouls, and Shaq gets four. You tell me. Obviously, they got the game called the way they wanted to get it called. We tried to play through it ... but obviously, it was a huge change tonight over the last few games.''

Donaghy could very well be making an attempt to embarrass the league or save his own skin. He is not a trustworthy person. And being that Game 6 is such a legend, that believing it was fixed is such an easy conceit to make ... it makes sense that Donaghy would make the claim. David Stern's arguments (and Pollard's statements) make sense.

But you can't unsee certain things. And on May 31, 2002, almost everyone saw an unfairly officiated game. Maybe Donaghy's team just knew the right button to push, but you can't blame us for believing him. We think we saw it, and this guy's saying it happened. What do you want to do?

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

6-10-2008 @ 10:27PM

Best Mineral Makeup said...

I don't think that we have seen the end of this one yet.

6-10-2008 @ 10:28PM

tanning lotion said...

I have said for years that this is going on. I doubt that it is coming from Stern, but whenever someone can gamble on something, someone will be trying to put the fix on.

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It is going to be real interesting where all of this plays out.

6-10-2008 @ 10:30PM

search engine placement said...

I think that he is trying to get a lighter sentence, but I am sure that this has been going on out there.

6-10-2008 @ 10:33PM

home based travel said...

going to be an interesting finals this year

self guidance said...

yea..looks to be interesting. will be fun to watch.

6-10-2008 @ 11:13PM

Charles Fowler said...

I believe that David Stern claimed there was no wrongdoing when the charges first came out last year. He claims that he has not read the allegations but he knows they are not true. Tim Donaghy did come foward and admit his guilt (for whatever reason) but the league refuses to admit any wrongdoing. Steroids is not the only thing Congress needs to be investigating. Why is it that at least 90% of the accused claim they are innocent but at least 90% turn out to be guilty.Does the NBA need a new commissioner?

6-10-2008 @ 11:36PM

Chaz Smith said...

I defy anyone who actually watched that game to defend the officiating. Either some perfectly fine referees had the worst game -- or at least the worst quarter -- of their professional lives, or a fix was in. Reams of phantom calls against the Kings -- anyone remember Kobe Bryant cracking defender Doug Christie across the bridge of the nose and knocking him on his butt? And do you remember who was called for the foul on that play? -- and the Lakers skate through. That the Kings almost pulled out the win any way is a real testament to their ability to remain focused and positive while getting railroaded by the refs. I always knew that game's outcome stank to high heaven, and while this doesn't prove it, I will enjoy the re-examination.

6-11-2008 @ 12:25AM

George B Vieto said...

Does Tim Donaghy have any plans to work in the WWE as a heel referee when he gets out of the big house?

6-11-2008 @ 12:41AM

ramador49 said...

(That the Kings almost pulled out the win any way is a real testament to their ability to remain focused and positive while getting railroaded by the refs. I always knew that game's outcome stank to high heaven, and while this doesn't prove it, I will enjoy the re-examination.)

.... And partial fans will always look for reasons and excuses for why their team lost. It's human nature. Someday, Sacramento will be able to hoist an NBA World Championship banner in their arena. Until then, they will go down as just another team who came close. Other than Kings fans, how many folks actually remember the losing team?

6-11-2008 @ 12:44AM

Karen said...

Stern should be removed! No wonder why he has been sucking up to the Kings Fans, the Maloofs, and the Kings....FOR SHAME!!! Tim Donaghy and anyone related to this (NBA) needs to be put in jail. We can never go back 6 years ago, but something needs to be done......I hope KARMA bites the NBA and their playoffs in the A-S!!!

6-11-2008 @ 2:41AM

The Dude Abides said...

Hey, I'm a Laker fan, and even I could tell that Game 6 was fishy. My favorite was Bibby running away from Kobe and still getting called. It's only fair to point out, as I did to a couple Laker-hating friends at the time, that the fourth quarter of Game 6 was a makeup to the Lakers for the one-sided officiating that favored the Kings in Games 2 and 5. It doesn't excuse the officiating, but it did happen. Also, that 27-9 FT breakdown was actually 19-9 until the Kings had to give four intentional fouls to stop the clock in the final minute. Of course, since I mentioned Games 2 and 5, I should probably also mention the Game 4 half-court shot by Samaki Walker that was counted as three points for the Lakers, but upon replay was shown to be a tenth of a second too late. Those three points made Horry's famous game-winner at the buzzer possible.

6-11-2008 @ 11:33AM

Mike Friedman said...

Wait a minute--Sacramento played "Hack-a-Shack" and lost because he chose that game to make some free throws.

6-11-2008 @ 11:57AM

FNA said...

I can't believe there are people that actually believe the Fakers won that series fair and square! At the time, it was clear that the Fakers were getting every advantage in the calls and it was overwhelming. I'm just surprised someone actually admitted it- of course, one has to suspect Donaghy is angling for more time off prison or to drag others into this mess.. but on the other hand, he's going to jail anyway and admitted he'd done wrong so this also way smacks of credible.

6-11-2008 @ 4:03PM

Jovon said...

Monday I came on here and said the exact same thing about the 2002 Kings-Lakers game 6. Now Donaghy coming out and saying it is all the proof i need. Now i don't believe in conspiracy theories, but i know for a fact that game was given to the Lakers. Anyone who begs to differ with that is either in denial or they didn't watch the game. The league may not come out and tell a ref to ref a certain way. But they can sure influence them on how to call the game.

6-12-2008 @ 8:51AM

Mike said...

(.... And partial fans will always look for reasons and excuses for why their team lost. It's human nature. Someday, Sacramento will be able to hoist an NBA World Championship banner in their arena. Until then, they will go down as just another team who came close. Other than Kings fans, how many folks actually remember the losing team?)

Does ANYONE think of the Lakers are victorious in that series? I don't know a single NBA fan who doesn't bring this game up as a testiment to Stern's ability to affect the outcome of games. Believe me, it's not just Kings fans that remember this horrible, horrible game.

6-12-2008 @ 12:00PM

Arde said...

Any objective observer has to reason that the officiating in Game 6 was more than just suspicious. Yes, everyone has bad days, and referees are subject to human error, but the systematic manner in which they literally took the game away from the Kings in that fateful Game 6 was absolutely ridiculous. After a certain point, you cannot chalk it up to human error.
To say that Game 6 was a "make up" for Games 2 and 5 is complete BS. The Lakers got the vast majority of calls the entire series - Game 6 was just the most egregious of the referee's bias.
I'm tired of people saying Kings fans are just bitter. We're not bitter, but we're also not going to keep quiet when injustices like this occur.

6-12-2008 @ 7:47PM

Mstrdrk said...

Any NBA fan knows that of all the professional sports, the officials play a greater role in the outcome. Of all the plays in a single game, a foul could be called on 80-85% of the plays, maybe even more than that. I remember watching Game 6 and having the same feeling I did when I watched Game 2 of this series; i.e., one of the teams was getting a helping hand. Being a HUGE Laker fan, it didn't bother me that calls were going our way since they didn't for the better part of the series. I mean, c'mon, can Doug Christie really guard Kobe? But what puzzles me the most about all the whining from Kings fans and Laker haters is that Game 7 was played at Arco arena. If you look at the box score, the Lakers shot 33 free throws making 27 including 11/15 by Shaq. The Kings shot 30 free throws making 16. Let's see, the Kings lost by 6 but bricked 11 more free throws than the Lakers. Had the Kings made their free throws, the Kings would have won that series. So, how about we stop dwelling on Game 6 and focus on Game 7 where the Kings had home court advantage, had their chances at the free throw line and CHOKED.

6-14-2008 @ 4:27AM

jason lynch said...

Game 5 hurt me more. That was the Kings to win. I Love the NBA and the game that they play. Game 6 was horribly officiated and even Stern admits it. The question now is what he does to placate the fans and remove all questions from the poor officiating. I want to remain an NBA fan but am unwilling to watch the NBE (National Basketball Entertainment league). It's time the officials were held publicly accountable and fined like the coaches and players are PUBLICLY. The Donaghy story shook my confidence and the latest allegations he is making need to be addressed beyond the "ROGUE" official comments Stern has made. I Love This Game but want to know it is left to the abilities of the athletes. That said the Kings hade EVERY opportunity to win game 7 and could not finish. I am a huge Kings fan and this ongoing officiating issue really shakes my confidence in the league.

6-16-2008 @ 7:30PM

scurvybro said...

Hey ramador49 --

Whether anyone remembers the losing team is not the point. The point is the suck-ass officiating of game six. And, contrary to your other insinuation, it's not just "partial" Kings fans who have this view of the officiating in that game.

That's what makes this particular game stand out. At the time, even columnist T.J. Simers of the L.A. freakin' Times opined that the officiating stunk to high heaven. Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post weighed in with the same assessment.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter how vehemently David Stern or anyone else insists that the officiating was on the up-and-up. What you can't escape is the video record. All you have to do is watch the game and the utter crookedness of it screams out.