Fitch Took One for Team on Dubious Call

Coach Bill Fitch said he didn’t protest Antonio McDyess’ last-second game-winning shot in Sunday’s overtime loss at Denver because he didn’t want to draw a technical.

TV replays showed that McDyess’ shot came after the 24-second clock had expired, but the officials allowed it. The play began with 24.3 seconds left and McDyess’ shot came with two-tenths of a second remaining.

Although the shot-clock operator said the clock went off, the officials reset the game clock to four-tenths of a second.

“I was upset, but my job is to worry about getting the next one and when I went up there and told them that it shouldn’t have counted, they said, ‘Do you want a technical?’ ” Fitch said. “I didn’t want a technical at that stage of the game.

“We turned in the tape [to the NBA office]. You can’t get the game back, all you can do is make sure that somebody else doesn’t have that happen to them, or that it’s not overlooked by the league.”

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Guard Brent Barry, held out of the Clippers’ last game by Fitch, had two turnovers in his first two minutes against the Rockets. Barry threw away a pass the first time he touched the ball.