Instant Replay Wins Approval

The NBA approved the use of instant replay Monday, only months after several controversial last-second calls in the playoffs.

Beginning with the 2002-03 preseason, referees will automatically review any shot that goes in with no time left on the clock in any quarter or overtime. They will also be able to use video to determine if a player had his foot on the three-point line or out-of-bounds line.

Recommended by the league’s competition committee last month, the NBA’s Board of Governors approved the move last week.

There were several last-second shots last season that helped precipitate the move.

“I don’t think there’s any one event that drove this decision,” Stu Jackson, the NBA’s vice president for basketball operations, said. “There have been a number of instances where, quite frankly, for any human being it would have been impossible to determine whether the shot got off in time.”

In an April playoff game between the Hornets and the Orlando Magic, Charlotte’s Baron Davis banked in a shot that clearly beat the buzzer after the Hornets inbounded with 0.7 seconds left and the score tied.

Referee Bernie Fryer waved the shot off while it was in the air, saying the officiating crew had discussed beforehand that no player could catch, turn and shoot in that amount of time.

The Hornets went on to beat the Magic in overtime, but the episode showed that the league needed to address its policies regarding rulings on last-second shots.

In the New Jersey Net-Indiana Pacer series, Reggie Miller forced overtime in Game 5 with a shot that left his hand after the clock reached 0.0 seconds.

And in Game 4 of the Sacramento King-Laker series, a 30-footer by Samaki Walker to end the first half was allowed even though it left his hand too late.

“The officials themselves are very much in favor of an instant-replay system,” Jackson said. “The overwhelming majority of officials are in favor of the system.”

Replay will not be used to determine whether the clock started on time.

This was an issue in March, when Cleveland’s Lamond Murray made a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Cavaliers a 100-97 win over New Jersey.

There were only 0.5 seconds left on the clock when Andre Miller inbounded the ball, and Murray was able to catch it and shoot it before the buzzer sounded.

Replay will also not be able to determine whether or not a foul call was correct, only whether it occurred before time expired.

For any reviewable call to be overturned, officials will need to have “clear and conclusive” evidence. The league said the reviews will take two minutes or less.

The officials will use video provided by the game’s telecast. If a game is not televised, Jackson acknowledged the possibility of inconsistencies.

“We’re mulling that over as we speak,” Jackson said. “Maybe we can’t review during those games. What we could do is use the in-arena feed.”

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Philadelphia 76er forward Derrick Coleman was arrested when police said he refused to take a breath test for alcohol after being stopped for driving about 100 mph in Farmington Hills, Mich.

The speed limit on Interstate 696 in the Detroit suburb is 70 mph.

Coleman, 35, who was alone in the vehicle, was taken into custody about 3:30 a.m. Saturday by officers who suspected the Detroit native had been drinking alcohol, Farmington Hills Police Chief William Dwyer said.

“They smelled the odor of alcohol,” Dwyer said. “They gave him a sobriety test that indicated that he had been drinking, and he told them that he had had some champagne.”

Coleman was arrested after he refused to take a breath test, Dwyer said, and blood tests for alcohol were taken after police received a court order. Results were expected in about a week, Dwyer said.

Coleman was ticketed for operating a vehicle under the influence of liquor and refusing to take a breath test, Dwyer said. He posted bond and was released.

In 2000, Coleman turned himself in after a warrant for his arrest was issued in North Carolina on charges of driving with a revoked license and using an out-of-state license while his North Carolina license was revoked.

Coleman, who played for the Charlotte Hornets at the time, had his license revoked because he refused to take a sobriety test after a car accident the previous October.

He was acquitted on drunk driving charges in that accident.

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Terry Porter, a 17-year NBA veteran who played last season for the San Antonio Spurs, joined the Sacramento Kings as an assistant coach. Porter, who played under King Coach Rick Adelman in Portland, replaces Pete Carril, who became a special assistant to Geoff Petrie, team president of basketball operations last month.... The Golden State Warriors promoted Otis Smith to director of basketball operations. For the past 2 1/2 years, Smith, who once played for the Warriors, was the director of community relations.