The protest that the Kings filed challenging the outcome of the last-second loss to the Memphis Grizzlies earlier this month has been officially denied.
The NBA has officially denied the protest made by the Sacramento Kings of the outcome of the Nov. 13 game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
In that game, of course, Courtney Lee made a basket with .3 seconds left on the clock to beat the Kings 110-109. The Kings, and many Kings fans, believed the shot shouldn't have counted due to the clock expiring before Lee got the shot up. There was also question about whether Ryan Hollins tipped the ball on the in-bound pass.
On Friday, the league upheld the referee's decision in the game.
"The basis for the Kings' protest was that Courtney Lee's game-winning shot should have been disqualified as having been made after time expired. Under league procedures, each team has an opportunity to make submissions in support of its position, and the protesting team is required to establish a misapplication of the official playing rules that had a clear impact on the game's outcome. The Commissioner determined that the game officials' call that Lee's shot was timely was within their judgment and not a misapplication of the playing rules. Sacramento's protest therefore did not justify the extraordinary remedy of overturning the game's result."
If you want to relive the play, you can check it out here.
The league had until Dec. 2 to decide. The Kings will play the Grizzlies on Sunday in Sacramento.
UPDATE 11:35 AM:
Yahoo's Marc Spears spoke with some in the Kings organization, and the Kings are not pleased. Here's what one source had to say:
"The referees had a duty to count frames on the replay and they didn't," one Kings source said. "We felt and still feel strongly that there was significant error in this decision."