Evidence points to Scott Foster rigging games - including at least one of ours.

[fairweatherfan]

http://pregame.com/forums/blogs/rj-bell/archive/2008/07/16/big-money-undefeated-in-accused-ref-s-games.aspx

Basically, Scott Foster reffed 7 games in the 06-07 season where the line moved by at least 2 points - indicating heavy betting in one direction.  All 7 times, the heavy betting won.  Odds of this being by chance are approximately 1/128.

Notably: "On January 19, 2007 the Kings opened as a 1.5 favorites at Boston; betting on Sacramento moved the line to -4.5. Kings won by 5, shooting 25 free throws, versus only 14 free throws for the home team Celtics."

To compare, Donaghy had 15 games where the line moved significantly - again, the big money went 15/15.  http://pregame.com/forums/blogs/rj-bell/archive/2008/05/17/nba-referee-tim-donaghy-strong-evidence-of-game-fixing.aspx

The evidence appears to be piling up, and it's interesting to see we were involved.  I should say I'm not familiar with this site and the author seems to like citing himself, so it may be dubious, but betting line data should be pretty objective. 

Thoughts?  Anyone remember that game well enough to add their own perspective?

[wdleehi]

It is not looking good for him or the NBA.

[MetroGlobe]

Wow.  Even if these articles are mostly bogus, the evidence is starting to pile up to the point that the NBA cannot control their own public image anymore.  I'm not entirely sure that Stern is grasping this. 

[Celtsfan33/34]

Oh dear God please let this equal the end of Stern.  I've hated him for hating us for years.

[crownsy]

but david assured me that it was one official acting alone, and that he had done "an extensive, intensive, internal investigation"

yet one check of this idiots phone records and matching up dates and times proves otherwise. bang up job david.

get this little dictator out of his office, he's been a joke for years.

[Moranis]

crazy stuff if true.

[zerophase]

see!! i always knew the nba hated the celtics  all those times i was screaming at the TV saying THATS RIDICULOUS, i was right.

[Roy Hobbs]

Here are some recaps of the game.  Apparently, the Celts choked this one away, and it had very little to do with the refs.  It's hard to say, though, whether they influenced earlier moments of the game.  (This is also interesting because of the behavior of Wyc's wife, which multiple Boston-area reporters found distasteful):

BOSTON - It's getting hard to tell what's worse: the lack of professionalism by the players on the court, or the lack of professionalism by management off the court.

If nothing else, perhaps it's adding up to disaster for the Boston Celtics.

Despite being drilled day after day by the coaching staff on the ins and outs of how to play decent NBA basketball, the Celtics on the court are getting drilled even worse, and Friday's 96-91 loss to the Sacramento Kings was exhibit A. The Celtics lost their poise and their composure after holding a five-point lead with 6:45 to go and suffered their sixth straight loss - overall, and at home - to fall to 4-13 at TD Banknorth Garden.

It was an awful way to go down, the Celts hit with a 10-2 Kings blitz after turning the ball over three times and getting blocked once in a 2:31 span of the fourth quarter. From that point to the end, the Kings hit them with two breakaway layups and a back-door job that just killed them.

The final breakaway occurred with 20.5 seconds left, immediately after Ryan Gomes finished a three-point play, only to have Kings center Brad Miller hit Kevin Martin with a full-court inbounds pass for a three-point play of his own.

If that wasn't enough, Corrinne Grousbeck, the wife of Celts owner Wyc Grousbeck, led a group of giggling women ("Ladies night out," Mrs. Grousbeck gushed, as if she were watching the Chippendales) into the locker room to have autographs signed by mostly undressed players who'd just been kicked in the teeth - again - despite the successful return of Delonte West to the lineup.

Returning from a bout with a bad back, West scored a season-high 25 points, combining nicely with Al Jefferson (23 points, 11 rebounds), Ryan Gomes (17 points, 10 rebounds in 48 minutes) and even Michael Olowokandi (seven rebounds).

But although Gomes did a nice job chasing around the mohawk-ed Ron Artest (19 points, 11 rebounds), Martin scored 27 and Miller 18, while Michael Bibby's direction enabled the visitors to break a seven-game losing streak, the team's longest since the 1997-98 season. They improved to 5-11 on the road.

"That's a great, smart team that's been playing together for a long time," said Jefferson, who must have been distracted by the giggling ladies, "and we made mistakes and they took advantage of that."

The loss was tough for coach Doc Rivers to take, because this team has now lost to the worst of them at home, including Memphis and Golden State. "This was a tough loss because this was a game I honestly thought we should have won," Rivers said. "I thought we had one stretch during the fourth quarter where we played like we were tentative and scared and I thought that was the difference in the game."

No kidding. The Celtics were doing a nice job of containing both Artest and Martin, a young player who has taken a big leap this season by leading the Kings in scoring (21.3 ppg). After the Celts had forced a 24-second violation midway through the fourth, Gomes canned a jumper to give his team a 78-73 lead, and then the wheels fell off the bus. One play later, Francisco Garcia scored on a back-door cut. One possession after that, Martin stole a Sebastian Telfair pass and scored on an easy jaunt down court. Jefferson was then blocked by Artest, the Celts committed another two turnovers and a 10-2 Kings run produced an 83-80 lead.

Over the next three minutes, the Kings scored on a variety of inside drives, including two more back-door layups, the last by Martin with 20.5 seconds remaining. The Celts were outscored, 21-11, down the stretch. They also turned the ball over 14 times in a slow-paced game, leading to 20 Kings points. The Kings scored on six of their final seven possessions.

"They made big shots and they made some plays where we got back cut and we hadn't been back cut all game," Rivers said. "Those are things that can't happen."

The Celtics once again played without Paul Pierce, while Wally Szczerbiak, who practiced a day earlier, wasn't feeling up to getting into action because of his balky knee and ankles. He was also skipping the trip to Washington, where the Celtics were to play Saturday. Brian Scalabrine (knee) was also unavailable.

West did make a nifty return after missing four games.

"He was great all night," said Rivers. "He was sensational."

His leadership, though, wasn't quite up to Kings standards, apparently.

"You can see it on the floor," Rivers said. "You had Artest and Bibby and Miller and they were kind of patient and got what they could out of the offense, and we panic in one stretch and had to use a timeout that I needed and I had to use it to try to get us to be more aggressive."

Instead, Rajon Rondo put up a hurried shot, "which is not what we were setting up," the coach said. "It's a learning process, but it's frustrating because even with those, there were too many little things that we have to do better."

"We know how to do it," said Jefferson, "but it's just going out there and doing it. It's just all the mistakes we've been making that are costing us the game. We go out there and play three quarters wonderfully, but at the end of the game it's just little mistakes."

If this is a professional basketball team, even with the injuries, it's just not coming through on the court - or off it, from management.

KINGS 96, CELTICS 91

Sometimes rewards come at the strangest of times. The Celtics had just lost their sixth straight, 96-91, to the Kings last night at TD Banknorth Garden. Most players had packed up and run out for the plane to Washington, where the C's face the Wizards tonight, but the shower room stragglers, like Delonte West, had a treat in store.

Corinne Grousbeck, wife of Celtics co-owner Wyc, led a phalanx of her friends into the room and immediately brightened the din. Some wore painters caps that West's teammates had signed. One even had her back autographed. And they all giddily surrounded West, wishing him good luck in Washington.

The Celtics guard, feeling somewhat buoyed by a 25-point, six-assist performance in his first game since missing four with a sore back, heartily participated.

Earlier, he excited everyone - Grousbeck and her friends included - with a 3-point runner that beat the third-quarter buzzer. Now it was his turn to smile.

``A flock of beautiful women - man,'' he said, looking on in wonderment as they filed out into the hallway.

At least they took off some of the evening's edge.

``Individually, I guess I did well out there, but I'm the type of guy who looks at the win column,'' West said. ``Late in the game we pulled up and got nonaggressive. Then we lost our momentum.''

As a result, West's return, as well as Al Jefferson's 15th double-double (23 points, 11 rebounds) and Ryan Gomes' fourth (17, 10), went for naught. Gomes' came at a particularly grueling pace. Charged with guarding and being guarded by Ron Artest, he played all 48 minutes.

Considering that all this good work produced a six-point C's lead (72-66) with 10:15 left, what followed had to be particularly crushing. ``We were tentative and scared for one stretch, and I thought that was the difference in the game,'' coach Doc Rivers said. ``The 14 turnovers at a slow pace kills you when they score 20 points off of them. This is a tough loss because I thought this was a game that we honestly should have won. They made big shots and they made some plays where we got back cut, and we hadn't been back cut all game. Those are the things that can't happen.'' But for a team that is now 2-12 without captain Paul Pierce, those things are happening all the time.

The Celts finally caved in with 2:49 left.

Artest gave the Kings an 85-83 lead on two free throws before the pesky Kevin Martin slipped past Gerald Green for a back-cutting layup and an 87-84 advantage.

Gomes interjected with a 20-footer, but Brad Miller responded with a 20-footer and two free throws with 1:12 left to push the Kings ahead, 91-86.

The Celts refused to go away, though.

After Artest missed a 20-footer with less than a minute to go, Gomes pulled down the board and hit West with a home run pass. He converted the layup, drew a foul and made the free throw to cut the deficit to 91-89.

Rajon Rondo fouled Martin on the other end, and, after driving another five feet and hitting the shot, was given the long continuation by referee Jess Kersey. Martin hit the free throw for a 94-89 lead with 20.5 seconds left.

Green missed a 3-pointer, and the Celtics were left to pack for their late-night flight.

``You could see it on the floor,'' Rivers said of the difference between his young players and Sacramento's veterans. ``You had Artest, Mike Bibby and Miller, and they were patient and got what they needed out of their offense.

``Then we panicked in one stretch, and I had to use a timeout I needed to get us to be aggressive. It's a learning process, but there's just so many things that we have to do better.''

With West playing 39 minutes and running the team effectively, the Celtics found themselves engaged in a close game with Sacramento last night at TD Banknorth Garden. But West and the Celtics could not do enough down the stretch, falling to the Kings, 96-91.

"We're lacking our sense of urgency down the stretch of games," said West (25 points, six assists). "We have to have the mentality on the floor to know when we definitely have to get a stop. We don't have that mentality right now. It's going to continue to cost us games until we do."

The Celtics entered the fourth holding a 67-62 lead, but lost their advantage midway through the quarter when the Kings staged a 10-2 run. Ron Artest (19 points, 11 rebounds) capped the spurt with a 19-footer that pushed the visitors ahead, 83-80, with 3:26 remaining. Although West tied the game with a 3-pointer on Boston's next possession, the home team never regained the lead.

West made a smart outlet pass to Ryan Gomes for a 3-point play that cut Sacramento's lead to 2 (91-89) with 21.8 seconds remaining. Then, it was all Kevin Martin (27 points) and Brad Miller in the final few minutes as they helped the Kings essentially close the game on a 9-3 run. After Gomes's 3-point play, Martin stretched the Kings' lead back to 5 with his own 3-point play. Martin added a couple of free throws for good measure as the Kings snapped a seven-game losing streak.

Open-door policy

The postgame scene in the Celtics' locker room was bizarre, especially for a team on a six-game skid. Corinne Grousbeck, wife of owner Wyc Grousbeck, invited nine of her friends into the locker room for an impromptu autograph session. More than a few awkward moments followed. A couple players were asked to sign while still wearing towels. One women received a autograph on her left shoulder blade. Paul Pierce and Wally Szczerbiak managed to sign outside the locker room

But Friday night at TD Banknorth Garden, the losing streak that began Jan. 4 and had been nothing but a Kings mood killer finally ended. And after fourth-quarter collapses had contributed so mightily to the stretch, late composure and execution led to a 96-91 victory over the Boston Celtics.

"I think we were searching and searching offensively, and we ran strictly our open offense, which is passing game and the corner series the whole fourth quarter," Musselman said. "And the ball started to move ... . We had some guys hit some big shots."

The Kings maintained a late lead thanks to the sort of easy baskets that had been rare of late.

Brad Miller threaded a pass from the high post to a cutting Martin for an uncontested reverse layup and an 85-84 lead with 2:32 to play. After Ryan Gomes' jumper for the Celtics, Miller ran the pick and pop with Bibby, with Miller hitting a 17-footer for an 89-86 lead with 1:40 to play. Miller, who had 18 points, six rebounds and seven assists, hit two free throws after an aggressive drive on Al Jefferson drew the foul, opening a 91-86 lead with 1:12 left.

Then after Miller fouled Gomes on a layup on the break and gifted a three-point play, he threw a court-long pass to a streaking Martin. It was an identical counter, with Martin breaking free from Gerald Green, catching the pass, receiving the continuation call for his layup when he was fouled and converting the three-point play.

"We just knew they thought I was just going to come up and get the ball and go hit a couple free throws," said Martin, who scored 14 of his team-high 27 points in the fourth quarter. "Brad's a smart passer, and I knew he wasn't going to make a mistake, so he just saw what I had."

What they had, for once, was a victory. Swingman John Salmons deemed it a must win, never mind that it's mid-January. The Celtics, who have lost 13 of 15, had a medical chart almost as long as their six-game losing streak. Starters Paul Pierce and Wally Szczerbiak were out, along with Theo Ratliff, Brian Scalabrine and Tony Allen.

"They were on a losing streak, and we were on a losing streak," Salmons said. "We just didn't want to be the ones to fall. We zoned in and concentrated and did what we had to do."

In his return from a back injury, point guard Delonte West had the Kings wishing he'd missed one more game. West was 10 for 16 from the floor for 25 points, hitting all three of his three-point attempts and attacking Miller in the paint for some of his looks. It was the same method for Jefferson, who had 23 points on 10-for-16 shooting. But the duo combined for just six points in the final quarter.

"It's another game we had a chance to win, and we can't afford to make mistakes like that against a team like that," Jefferson said. "A great team, a smart team that's been playing together for a long time, so we made mistakes, and they took advantage of that."

No word on whether Jefferson had watched any recent film of the Kings, but this was clearly an improvement. It also was the best game in some time for Artest, who had 19 points, 11 rebounds and two steals.

Kevin Martin kept the Kings from losing another close game. Martin scored 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and Ron Artest added 19 points and 11 rebounds to help Sacramento snap a seven-game losing streak with a 96-91 win over the Boston Celtics on Friday night.

Sacramento shot 73 percent in the fourth quarter to outscore Boston 34-24 and avoid losing eight straight for the first time since dropping 12 in a row in the 1997-98 season. Martin made all five of his shots in the quarter, and Artest and Brad Miller each scored eight.

"We played with a sense of urgency," Martin said. "We just had to get one any way we could."

Although the Kings never trailed after a pair of Artest free throws made it 85-83 with 2:49 left, the win wasn't secured until the closing moments.

The Celtics pulled to within 91-88 on Ryan Gomes' three-point play with 21.8 seconds left, but Martin took the inbounds pass from Miller and zoomed down the floor for a layup before the Celtics had a chance to foul him and send him to the free-throw line.

"Kevin and Brad had great eye contact, and Brad's one of our better passers," Sacramento coach Eric Musselman said. "He threw the thing at a perfect angle, and Kevin obviously did what he's supposed to do."

Martin was fouled on the layup, and his free throw made it 94-89. The result was the Kings first win since beating New York on Jan. 2. Sacramento had lost three games in overtime during that stretch while dropping into last place in the Pacific Division.

Boston lost its sixth straight and fell to an NBA-worst 4-14 at home. The Celtics haven't won in Boston since beating Denver on Dec. 15.

Delonte West led the Celtics with 25 points, while Al Jefferson had 23 points and 11 rebounds and Gomes added 17 points and 10 rebounds.

The Kings trailed 78-73 midway through the fourth, but went on a 10-2 run to take the lead.

Boston tied it at 83 with 3:05 left on West's 3-pointer, but Artest made his go-ahead free throws the next time down the floor.

"It's just all the mistakes that we've been making that's costing us the game," Jefferson said. "We go out there and play three quarters wonderfully, but at the end of the game it's just the little mistakes."

In his first game since missing four with a sore back, West shot 10-of-16 from the floor and added six assists in 39 minutes.

His nine third-quarter points including an off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer with two defenders in his face helped Boston take a 67-62 lead into the fourth.

But West and Jefferson were both held to three points apiece in the fourth.

"We pulled up and got nonagressive and they stole one from us," West said. "We have to get stops, and we don't have that mentality right now. And it's going to continue to cost us games until we do."

Notes:@ Boston guard Paul Pierce said before the game he hopes to return the first week of February. Pierce has missed 14 games with a left foot stress reaction, and the team said earlier this week that he could be out until the All-Star break. ... Sebastian Telfair is the only Celtics player to play in all 38 games. ... Sacramento plays in Detroit on Saturday. It will be Artest's first game at the Palace of Auburn Hills since the brawl between Indiana Pacers players and Pistons fans on Nov. 19, 2004. ... Boston has won one home game since November.

[Roy Hobbs]

Sorry for the long block quotes, but I know most people don't have access to the news recaps from back them, and it's not possible just to link to them.