Clock Malfunction

I know the Detroit Pistons got a break in Monday night's game versus the Orlando Magic at the end of the third quarter.

Here's a statement from the NBA on the clock malfunction:

Joel Litvin, NBA President, League and Basketball Operations, issued the following statement today regarding the inadvertent clock stoppage that occurred at the end of the third quarter of the Detroit Pistons’ 100-93 win over the Orlando Magic last night at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals:

“After reviewing the video of last night’s Pistons-Magic game, we determined that the play that concluded with Chauncey Billups’ three-point field goal at the end of the third quarter took approximately 5.7 seconds. Because there were only 5.1 seconds remaining in the quarter when the play began, the shot would not have counted had the clock continued to run.

"The referees followed proper procedure in addressing the clock malfunction by estimating the elapsed time and using their judgment as to whether the shot was taken in time. Under NBA rules, the referees did not have the option of using instant replay and a timing device to determine exactly how much time had elapsed, nor do the rules allow for a re-play after a clock malfunction is discovered. The NBA Competition Committee was scheduled to discuss the possible expanded use of instant replay at its meeting at the end of the month and we will raise, for the Committee's consideration, the use of replay in situations like this.”

The NBA determined that the clock stoppage resulted from a technical malfunction in the arena timing system. As with all NBA playoff games, the timekeeper who worked last night's game was from a "neutral" city.