ATLANTA -- For the first time since 1982, the NBA is sending

two teams back to the court for a do-over.

The Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat must replay the final 51.9

seconds of their game last month because the official scorer ruled

incorrectly that Shaquille O'Neal fouled out, the league said

Friday.

The Hawks won 117-111 at home in overtime Dec. 19, but strike

that one from the books. For now, playoff-contending Atlanta has

one less win, while the Heat have one less loss on their miserable

record.

"We're human. We make mistakes," Hawks owner Michael Gearon Jr.

said. "There certainly wasn't anything malicious about it. We have

one of the most senior scoring staffs in the league. They're good.

It happened. There's not much we can do about it."

Making it a truly miserable day: Atlanta followed up Stern's

decision by losing to Washington 102-98 in overtime.

The NBA said the replay will be held before the teams' next

scheduled game: March 8 in Atlanta. Play will start from the time

after O'Neal's disputed sixth foul, with the Hawks leading 114-111.

"Wait a minute! I picked up a win today, or lost a loss," Heat

coach Pat Riley quipped in New Orleans, where the Heat played the

Hornets. "I can wake up tomorrow knowing there's one less loss."

The Hawks also were fined $50,000, with commissioner David Stern

ruling the team was "grossly negligent" in failing to address the

mistake.

The protest is the first granted by the NBA since December 1982,

when then-NBA commissioner Larry O'Brien upheld a request for a

replay by the San Antonio Spurs after their 137-132 double-overtime

loss to the Los Angeles Lakers the previous month.

The Spurs and Lakers finished the game in April 1983, with San

Antonio winning 117-114.

The Hawks were caught off guard by Stern's ruling, feeling he

was trying to send a message in light of another scoring mistake

that occurred in Atlanta early last season.

"Come on," Gearon said. "You can see how many time coaches,

assistant coaches and trainers walk up to [the scoring table]

during a game. They're walking up there for a reason. They're

asking questions, whether it's confirming timeout or points or

other issues."

Team spokesman Arthur Triche said no one on the stat crew had

been replaced, but changes have been made in the way they operate.

Two people run the official book at courtside, while the

four-person computer stat crew is 26 rows above the court in

another press location. The two crews are supposed to check with

each other if any discrepancies come up.

"While it was an honest mistake made on the table, there was a

communication breakdown in not following through the procedures

that are in place," Triche said. "That's why we're in this

predicament."

The Hawks were leading 112-111 in overtime when O'Neal was

called for a foul. The official scorers said it was the Miami

center's sixth foul, when actually it was only his fifth.

The mistake stemmed from a foul with 3:24 remaining in the

fourth quarter that was called on Udonis Haslem but was mistakenly

credited to O'Neal at the scoring table.

"That's crazy, man! I don't even think I can play because I

fouled out," Atlanta's Josh Smith said. "David Stern is the head

honcho, so if he says we've got to play another 51 seconds that's

what we've got to play. Bottom line."

Stern ruled the Hawks "failed to follow league-mandated scoring

procedures and failed to respond effectively when the members of

the statisticians' crew noticed the mistake," the NBA said in a

statement.