PHILADELPHIA VS. TORONTO MILWAUKEE VS. CHARLOTTE SAN ANTONIO VS. DALLAS L.A. LAKERS VS. SACRAMENTO

Wednesday, May 30 Hornets try to shake off Coleman incident Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte Hornets don't think Derrick Coleman cost them a victory. On paper, it sure looks that way. Milwaukee beat Charlotte 91-90 Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. In a game decided by one point, much was being made of a technical foul called against the Hornets when Coleman inexplicably walked off the court. "It's not fair to say that play cost us the game," guard David Wesley said Wednesday as the teams prepared for Game 3 tonight. "But I was thinking when they hit the free throw, wouldn't it be something if we lose by one?" That's what happened after a bizarre lack of communication between Coleman and Charlotte's coaching staff. Suffering from a strained lower back, Coleman walked out on the floor after a timeout as if he was ready to play. But moments before the ball was inbounded, he told referee Danny Crawford he couldn't continue and walked off to the locker room. The Hornets had no idea, so no sub was sent in, and they were hit with a technical foul for having only four players on the floor when the ball was put into play. Ray Allen made the ensuing free throw and, unbelievably, it proved costly. "I had no idea what was going on," Milwaukee coach George Karl said. "But I was glad we got it, because we were battling for points at the time and that one point was important." The Hornets had no explanation Wednesday for what happened. "I haven't talked to DC, so I can't say what happened," forward P.J. Brown said. "I just know I had never seen anything like that before in 20 years of playing basketball." Coleman, who will not play tonight, missed practice because of the back injury and wasn't available to shed any light on the situation. But he said after the game Tuesday he thought Crawford would have called for a Charlotte substitution. "I don't know, maybe it was a lack of communication," he said. "But you've got veteran officials right there and I was sure somebody would stop the game and say, `You need a sub' or something like that." Charlotte coach Paul Silas said there was still some debate over who Coleman told that he couldn't continue, and Hornets vice president Bob Bass called the league office to ask if the officials had a responsibility to count the players on the floor before resuming play. Even Karl said he was surprised the infraction happened, and that it resulted in a technical foul. But he said he had seen it happen once before in the CBA, when there was confusion over who was supposed to check into the game. "But I've never understood why it's a technical, I've always felt it should be delay of game." Still, the Hornets were adamant Wednesday the miscue didn't cost them the game. "There were about 10 plays you can look at that cost us the game," Silas said. "How about missed free throws? How about having to fight back from a 16-point deficit? That technical foul was just one part of it." It's those little breakdowns that can ultimately make or break a series. "I'm glad the referee noticed it, because that tech cost them," Milwaukee center Ervin Johnson said. "That's what George talks to us about, things like that can't happen, you can't break down like that. In a seven-game series, you're trying to move on and you can't have letdowns of mental mistakes like that." Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

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