We’ve never seen this happen in more than 25 years of watching the NBA. That’s not to say it hasn’t happened before, we’ve just never seen it if it has. During New York’s 86-79 loss to the Heat at the Garden yesterday, Carmelo Anthony returned to action after missing a pair of games in OKC and Dallas with back spasms. Except, he was also whistled for a technical foul after referee Ken Mauer blew the whistle in his ear, momemntarily turning him deaf on the inbounds.
During an out of bounds play from the baseline under Miami’s basket midway through the second quarter, Mauer attempts to hand ‘Melo the ball while he blows the whistle near Anthony’s left ear. ‘Melo doesn’t even catch the ball as he clutches his earlobe and Mauer starts the five-second count.
Eventually, they re-do the sequence after Anthony’s complaints combined with the fact they were playing in New York — we’re not sure Mauer would have given him a second chance on the road, but that’s pure speculation.
‘Melo gets the ball in on the second attempt, but continues to speak with Mauer, who eventually T’s him up.
As you can see, Mauer’s whistle isn’t exactly right in ‘Melo’s ear, though it is close. The fact Mauer continues his count even when the ball bounces away from Anthony, though, is peculiar. As is ‘Melo’s complaint — it’s really not that close, though the shrill of the whistle can be deafening sometimes.
Anthony took on a big workload after missing the last two games of New York’s road trip. He was 11-of-26 in over 41 minutes of action, including 1-for-6 from deep for a game-high 31 points. But the Knicks dropped their fourth game in a row after Dwayne Wade scored a team-high 27 (11/18) upon his own return from some time off and before his wife’s video bomb after the game.
(video via The Knicks Channel – Obglobal.net)
Should Anthony have been whistled for the technical, or was it the ref’s fault?
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