Rockets' '05 playoff series fixed, disgraced ex-referee says Ex-ref: Rockets' '05 series was fixed

League calls Donaghy's letter a veiled ploy for lenient sentencing

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Disgraced former referee Tim Donaghy charged Tuesday that NBA officials encouraged league referees to influence the results of playoff series, including the Rockets' 2005 series against Dallas.

Donaghy made the allegations in a letter filed with the court by his lawyer. He did not specify teams in the letter, but he described the situation of the series in which Dallas owner Mark Cuban complained of illegal screens set by Yao Ming.

Donaghy, 41, pleaded guilty to felony charges of betting on games and taking cash payoffs from gamblers in exchange for providing privileged information. He faces up to 33 months in prison, with sentencing scheduled for July 14.

In the letter to federal Judge Carol Bagley Amon, Donaghy's legal team argued that Donaghy "provided key information regarding game manipulation by referees." Donaghy's lawyer, John Lauro, has suggested his client deserves credit for coming forward before he was charged to disclose behind-the-scenes misconduct in the NBA.

In a statement, the NBA described Donaghy's charges as inaccurate and designed to lighten his sentence.

"According to Mr. Donaghy, all of his allegations have previously been made to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney, and they are clearly being disclosed now as part of his desperate attempt to lighten the sentence that will be imposed for his criminal conduct," NBA executive vice president and general counsel Richard Buchanan said. "The NBA remains vigilant in protecting the integrity of our game and has fully cooperated with the government at every stage of its investigation."

Donaghy's counsel, however, described the scenario of the 2005 first-round series in which former Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said he had been told by an NBA executive that officials would be watching for moving screens. Van Gundy was fined $100,000 for not revealing the source of his information.

Former referee Tim Donaghy charged Tuesday that NBA officials encouraged league referees to influence the results of playoff series. Former referee Tim Donaghy charged Tuesday that NBA officials encouraged league referees to influence the results of playoff series. Photo: Haraz N. Ghanbari, AP Photo: Haraz N. Ghanbari, AP Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Rockets' '05 playoff series fixed, disgraced ex-referee says 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

"Team 3 lost the first two games in the series and Team 3's owner complained to NBA officials," the letter said. "Team 3's owner alleged that referees were letting a Team 4 player get away with illegal screens. NBA Executive Y told Referee Supervisor Z that the referees for that game were to enforce the screening rules strictly against that Team 4 player. The referees followed the league's instructions and Team 3 came back from behind to win the series. The NBA benefited from this because it prolonged the series, resulting in more tickets sold and more televised games."

The letter also charged that officials manipulated a series in 2002 to go seven games. The Western Conference finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings included a controversial Game 6 won by the Lakers when they took a large number of free throws.

"The referees' favoring of Team 6," the letter charged, "led to that team's victory that night and Team 6 came back from behind to win the series."

The NBA described the information cited in the filing as previously investigated.

Speaking before the start of Tuesday night's NBA Finals Game 3 in Los Angeles, NBA commissioner David Stern called the allegations baseless.

"He's looking for anything that will somehow shorten the sentence, and it's not going to happen," Stern said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

jonathan.feigen@chron.com