ATLANTA -- Fairly or not, Roy Hibbert has become the symbol of all that's wrong with the Indiana Pacers.
He hopes to turn that around Saturday, no matter what his role.
The 7-foot-2 center has struggled mightily in the first three games against the Atlanta Hawks, raising the possibility of coming off the bench in Game 4. The top-seeded Pacers are down 2-1 in the best-of-seven series and must steal a win at Philips Arena to avoid a mammoth upset.
Coach Frank Vogel won't say if he's planning to go with a smaller lineup that has proven to be more effective against the eighth-seeded Hawks. Hibbert says he's willing to do whatever is best for the team and is more concerned about stepping up his performance, either as a starter or backup (see full story).
Bulls: Noah, Wizards official have altercation
WASHINGTON -- Washington Wizards coach Randy Wittman says things "got out of hand" when Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah got into a shouting match with a Wizards security official during the Bulls' shootaround ahead of Game 3 in the teams' first-round series.
Said Wittman: "That's got to be something from our side that shouldn't happen."
The Chicago Sun Times reported that Wittman and Wizards staffer Jackie Miles swore at each other following the Bulls' shootaround Friday morning. The paper said Miles was trying to get Noah off the court before Noah was ready to leave.
NBA
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau called the incident "much ado about nothing."
Heat: Team not happy about LeBron fouls
MIAMI -- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says his team isn't happy that a hard foul against LeBron James in Game 2 against Charlotte wasn't even reviewed by referees, the latest complaint Miami has levied in how much abuse its star takes during games.
James was leveled by the Bobcats' Josh McRoberts late in the teams' Eastern Conference playoff game on Wednesday night. McRoberts was assessed only a common foul at the time, but the NBA on Thursday upgraded that to a flagrant-2 and fined him $20,000.
Spoelstra says the Heat aren't going into Game 3 on Saturday looking for retribution. "But there are going to be more attacks," Spoelstra says.
James also wonders why the play wasn't reviewed, noting that several similar plays in other playoff games were (see full story).
NBA: Replay could be expanded
NEW YORK -- After further review, the play stands as called.
Not because it was right, but because referees weren't allowed to determine it was wrong.
NBA officials were already considering expanding referees' instant replay options. Discussions will surely heat up this summer after two key plays in this postseason couldn't be changed even after refs saw them on the monitor.
For now, the rules are clear about what referees can look at. But Commissioner Adam Silver says the league will "inevitably" reach a point where they can do more.
Silver's comments Thursday came hours before Atlanta's Jeff Teague made a 3-pointer that replays showed came after he had stepped out of bounds. Officials, however, could review only whether he shot from behind the arc (see full story).