ATLANTA -- NBA official Bennett Salvatore admitted he made a mistake in ruling an inadvertent whistle rather than a foul on a three-point shot attempt by the Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose late in Sunday night's Game 4 against Atlanta Hawks.
Chicago Bulls Jerseys The play in question occurred with 2:27 left in the fourth quarter with the Hawks leading 90-84. Rose pulled up for a three-pointer and appeared to be fouled by Hawks guard Jamal Crawford. Salvatore blew his whistle, but said it was inadvertent and ruled a jump ball would take place at center court. The Hawks won the resulting tip and came down then floor and added to their lead. "An inadvertent whistle is when a referee blows his whistle and didn't mean to. That's exactly what happened," Salvatore told a pool reporter. "I blew my whistle and didn't mean to, I didn't think it was a foul. Having watched the replay after the game, it was a foul and I should have called it. I made a mistake."
The Bulls bench erupted after the non-call and was still a little perturbed by it after the game. "I got to look at the play again. I thought it was a foul," Bulls forward Luol Deng said. "It is what it is."Said Rose: "It's basketball. Hopefully next time they call it."Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau was upset by the decision, but understood that officials make mistakes. "At that time of the game, I've never seen t
hat," Thibodeau said. "But look, Benett's a good official. He said he made a mistake. He's human. So that's what he did.
NBA Jerseys From China He's a good official. He got him in the air,
Cheap NHL Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys, he came down on him. I thought it was a foul. But you know, sometimes it goes your way.Salvatore was upset that he made the error, especially at such a critical juncture in the game. "I blew my whistle. I was positive it was not a foul," Salvatore said. "I blew my whistle by accident. Which is an inadvertent whistle. That's why I disallowed it .Having watched replay. It was a foul. I made a mistake. I was wrong."