National Basketball Association

Stern turns down Hawks' protest

Published Jan. 19, 2010 8:59 p.m. ET

foxsports

The NBA has denied the Atlanta Hawks' protest over a shot-clock error.

Commissioner David Stern ruled the mistake didn't have a "clear impact'' on last month's loss at Cleveland.

The Hawks protested their Dec. 30 defeat after officials failed to notice that the 24-second clock was not reset after a miss by Cleveland with 1:56 remaining. Atlanta was leading 99-98 but did not get its allotted time and wound up making a costly turnover while rushing to get off a shot. The Cavaliers went on to win 106-101.

Coach Mike Woodson asked that the game be replayed from the point of the mistake. But Stern ruled that it wasn't serious enough to justify the "extraordinary remedy'' of overturning the final score.