Someone Has to Blow the Whistle on Referees

Still feeling the glow of his team’s surprising victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals, Dallas Maverick Coach Don Nelson stood in the SBC Center on Tuesday and called it “an awful special win.”

For those who watched it, parts of it were more awful than special. I’m talking about the 72 fouls that were called and the 98 free throws shot during Dallas’ 113-110 comeback victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

Normally, it’s the coaches who whine about the officiating between games. Now it’s our turn. If the referees are going to call games this tightly, with a foul called an average of every 40 seconds, fans are going to change the channel faster than you can say “American Idol.”

It bottomed out in the second quarter, when the teams shot 39 free throws. The Mavericks, who averaged 22 free throws a game during the regular season, went to the line 17 times in that quarter alone.

They shot 50 altogether ... and made 49. That’s an amazing display. It’s just not what we want to see from any team, especially a team that plays offense with as much flair as the Mavericks. You don’t watch the St. Louis Rams to see them hand the ball off 50 times.

The problem is, the teams don’t dictate the style of play. The officials do, and their priorities change each game. Against the Lakers, the Spurs went to Tim Duncan more and more as the series progressed. He shot 20 free throws in the overly officiated Game 4, then shot a total of 15 in Games 5 and 6, which were much more loosely officiated. The officials in those games left the outcome up to the players, and ultimately the series turned on a single play: Robert Horry’s rim-rattling would-be three-point shot. It’s much better to watch the replay of a shot that was missed than to listen to whining about a call that was made.

Officials Bennett Salvatore, Ron Garretson and Greg Willard ran things on Monday, calling almost every touch and bump.

The NBA playoffs should be decided by guys like Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Dirk Nowitzki and Nick Van Exel. Ginobili, the Spurs’ most exciting player, played only 22 minutes, though, because of foul trouble, then fouled out.

This late in the playoffs, the participants aren’t as concerned with appearances. They’re too busy trying to secure the remaining number of victories it will take to win a championship.

But this is the showcase for the sport, and if the league can’t deliver compelling ball now, what will be the incentive for the casual fan to come back and watch the next regular season?

Down a game and suddenly having to win one on the road before the series is out, Spur Coach Gregg Popovich has bigger things on his mind than aesthetics. Coaches only feel wronged when there’s a large free-throw disparity.

“It doesn’t matter how the whistle is blown, as long as it’s consistent,” he said. “If one team shoots [48] and the other shoots 50, that’s nothing to complain about. Whether you think that’s too quick a whistle or whatever, you have to adjust to what’s going on in the game. I thought both teams were very aggressive going to the hole. They knocked down 49 of them, so give them credit.”

In the midst of the madness, the players didn’t even notice the high volume of calls.

“I didn’t realize we had 50 free throws,” Nowitzki said. “Then I looked at the stat sheets. Fifty free throws. It’s amazing.”

Van Exel said the Mavericks would take points from any source.

“For us, it really doesn’t matter, as long as the score is up,” he said. “Two points is two points. Whether it’s transition or whether it’s free throws, we just want a high score.”

He said they weren’t taken out of the flow by the constant stops in play.

“Nah, we just shoot,” he said. “We just come down and shoot, man. Whoever has the ball, if he doesn’t shoot, it’s one pass and it’s a shot. Nothing’s going to get us out of our rhythm. We’re just going to keep going up and down the court, trying to make it a fast-paced game.”

At least, they tried until Nelson gimmicked it up. With Duncan scoring at will in the first half, Nelson ordered the Mavericks to foul Bruce Bowen -- a 40% free-throw shooter -- every time downcourt, whether or not he had the ball, for a stretch in the second quarter. It was similar to the strategy he has used against Shaquille O’Neal. It was also a cowardly form of basketball.

“When we started the Hack-a-Shaq, he didn’t like it very much,” Nelson said. “My answer was, shoot better free throws.

“We’ll foul Bruce until he shoots them better. The onus is on him.”

Bowen acknowledged it was his responsibility to foil the strategy, but he sounded more upset by some of the other stuff going on with the Mavericks.

“You never know what to expect when you’re playing Dallas, with Nellie over there and his antics,” Bowen said. “They have good players. Through all the complaining sometimes, it seems to go their way at times. I’m not saying that’s what happened [Monday], but after every shot, you have a guy that’s saying something to the official. Just play basketball.”

That’s a good idea ... if the officials will allow it.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at j.a.adande@latimes.com.