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The Win That Wasn't (Or At Least, Not Quite Yet)
Posted by: Micah Hart on January 12, 2008 at 2:45AM AFT

Hold that celebration, AJ.

You know, you hang around long enough, eventually you'll have a day where you see something you've never seen before.

That would be today, Hawks fans.

The NBA has ruled that because of a score-keeping error, the Hawks and Heat will have to replay the final 51.9 seconds from their Dec. 19 (former) 117-111 win over Miami.

Yup - you read that right. On March 8, before the scheduled 48-minute affair between the division rivals, the two teams will first re-write the final scene from the previous game.

The Heat protested the game after Shaquille O'Neal was incorrectly disqualified after picking up his fifth foul with 51.9 seconds left and the Hawks leading 114-111. Shaq was accidentally attributed with an earlier foul that instead belonged to Udonis Haslem, and because of the error the NBA decided to do something they haven't done since 1982 - require a do-over.

This, needless to say, has the office buzzing.

First of all, to set the scene, Shaq fouled Al Horford with 51.9 left on the clock. Horford made the pair, making the score 114-111. So, when they start the replay, it will be 114-111 Hawks lead, and Miami will have ball possession. Shaq will remain in the game (if the Heat so choose, and if he is healthy) with the five fouls, and I guess we'll see what happens.

I am quite certain this is going to get a ton of play in the coming weeks, so I invite everyone to share their opinion in the comments.

In the meantime, Hawks-Wizards tonight at Philips. Here is the "Breaking Down The Wizards" segment I recorded today with Coach Drew, check it out.

Sorry, I'd have more, but my head is spinning.

See you tonight!

Update: Hawks owner Michael Gearon spoke with reporters at halftime of the Wizards game, and seemed mostly at peace with the league's decision. Here's a little of what he had to say:

"We've dealt with a lot of adversity the last few years, so this is nothing new to us," said Gearon. "We are used to being underdogs, and I think a lot of times it brings guys closer together and makes them work harder. I don't think there was any malicious intent on the scorer's part; it was an honest mistake and usually these kinds of things work themselves out during the course of a game. There is nothing we can do about it now, but I think we've shown in the past few years an ability to stay patient and usually things work out."

Second Update: There have been a lot of questions about whether or not tickets to the Dec. 19 game will be valid for the redo on March 8, either for the last 51.9 seconds by itself or if it would get them into the regularly scheduled game that night against Miami. The official word is that the redo will be played directly before the main game that night, and only people with tickets valid for the March 8th game will be allowed in the building. Bottom line? If you want to see both finishes, buy a ticket for the regular game.

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