ORLANDO, Fla. — Two days later, Phil Jackson called goaltending on his own center.
An hour before tipoff of Tuesday’s Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Jackson said Los Angeles center Pau Gasol should have been whistled for goaltending on Orlando rookie guard Courtney Lee’s missed layup in the final second of regulation in Game 2 on Sunday night.
Gasol’s right hand grazed the net, and his fingers hit the rim while he tried to block Lee’s miss, a shot that would have given Orlando its first win in the Finals in team history and tied this series 1-1.
Instead, Lee’s shot caromed off the backboard and front of the rim and the teams went to overtime tied at 88-88.
The Lakers went on to win 101-96, but Jackson said they shouldn’t have.
“It’s called basket interference,” Jackson said Tuesday.
“Even if you hit the net supposedly in the process, that’s part of it, but that rule is kind of archaic.
“It isn’t called in this day and age as much, but when we were in high school — that was something a high school ref might call, basket interference.”
With 0.6 seconds left, Lee caught an alley-oop inbounds pass from Hedo Turkoglu but was long with his short shot as Gasol closed in on him. Lee put his hands behind his head and walked to the bench in disbelief as his teammates tried to comfort him.
Jackson couldn’t recall a game ending on a goaltending call.
