According to the NBA, Brent Barry (17) of the San Antonio Spurs took this off-balance shot after he was fouled by Los Angeles Lakers guard Derek Fisher on Tuesday. (Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) The San Antonio Spurs may not believe it, but the NBA has acknowledged that a foul should have been called on the final play of Game 4 of the Western Conference final.
With the Los Angeles Lakers holding a slim 93-91 edge on Tuesday night, San Antonio reserve Brent Barry received the ball on an inbounds play just inside the top of the three-point arc with 2.1 seconds remaining.
Lakers guard Derek Fisher jumped on a hesitation move from Barry and clearly bumped into him as he landed, but no foul was called. Barry was forced to launch an off-balance three-pointer that missed badly just before time expired.
Several Spurs players and head coach Gregg Popovich said after the game that a foul should not have been called on the play but the league disagreed on Wednesday.
"With the benefit of instant replay, it appears a foul should have been called," NBA spokesman Tim Frank said.
The error proved to be a costly one for the Spurs, who would have had a chance to tie the game with two free throws and level the series at 2-2 had the correct call have been made. Instead the defending champions from San Antonio have fallen into a 3-1 hole and face elimination at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Thursday.
With files from the Associated Press
