MIAMI – The Nets knew it was a sham but said nothing publicly – hey, they fouled the Pistons to avoid being part of a historic defensive run, don’t forget. But the NBA spoke up yesterday and disallowed the triple-double recorded by Atlanta’s Bob Sura Monday.
League officials determined Sura “intentionally missed a layup and grabbed the rebound” before citing the NBA rule book that stressed a shot is “a player’s attempt to shoot the ball into the basket for a field goal.” Officials found that Sura did not attempt a shot, thus there could not have been a rebound.
Sura apparently got the statistical gem – made even rarer because it would have given him three consecutive triple-doubles – when he lobbed the ball into the bottom of the rim and grabbed the rebound on the game’s final play in the Hawks’ 129-107 win over the Nets.
Sura joked that the ball “slipped” from his hands but also claimed, “I had to do it; my teammates were pulling for me to get it.” Sura finished with 22 points, 11 assists and, now, nine rebounds.