NBA Denies Protest by Atlanta Hawks Against the Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers win against the Atlanta Hawks on December 30th will stand. The NBA made the ruling earlier this afternoon weeks after the Hawks questioned the how the shot clock was reset on a crucial possession. The league stated "error did not have a clear impact on the game's outcome".

The league made the announcement with this press release that read in full:

The National Basketball Association announced today that Commissioner David Stern has denied the Atlanta Hawks' protest of their 106-101 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 30, 2009.

In the protest, the Hawks argued that the failure of the shot clock operator to reset the shot clock following a defensive rebound by Atlanta with 1:57 remaining in the game warranted a replay of the game from that point forward.

Commissioner Stern determined that the shot clock error did not have a clear impact on the game's outcome and therefore did not justify the extraordinary remedy of granting the protest and overturning the game's result.