Clock Malfunction in Game 2 of the semifinal between the Pistons and Magic
The second game of the semifinals between the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic, that was played on the 5th of May, 2008, turned out to be a disaster. The score was 100-93 and the Pistons were the winners. Although the stop of the clock that happened unintentionally wasn’t going to change the end result of the game much, NBA President Joel Litvin had to make a statement. They found out that the clock stopped because of a technical malfunction in the Arena’s systems. In every game of the NBA Playoffs there is a “timekeeper” who makes sure the clocks run properly and, of course, he doesn’t favor either one of the teams. Since the human error factor was ruled out, this puts a black point in the Palace of Auburn performance. But can we really blame the Arena? No one is insured against technical problems. Bottom line is that the dispute is about a 3 point shot that team captain for the Pistons, Chauncey Billups, made. Billups made the shot in 5.7 seconds and if the clock had run properly he would’ve had only 5.1 seconds to complete it. The rules in such cases are set and we’ll just have to wait until the end of the month when the committee will come up with a decision.
