Lakers4Kobe, I am 50/50 on Gasol. On the one hand, I agree with everything you say. On the other hand, the game was over and you don't want to give the fans and especially the other team a reason to fight harder in the next game. (Imagine the situation were reversed in Game 2 and Dwight did this...that alone would motivate LA in the next game).

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Mickael Pietrus' two-handed shove into Pau Gasol's back in the final seconds of Game 4 was the first flagrant foul of the NBA Finals and will automatically be reviewed Friday by the league office.

League rules mandate that all flagrants are subjected to a next-day video review for possible fine, suspension or downgrade.

Anything more severe than a fine in this case is believed to be unlikely, but players and coaches have grown accustomed this postseason to waiting for the outcome of the review. Entering the Finals, 14 flagrant fouls in these playoffs had either been upgraded, downgraded or assessed retroactively on fouls that weren't ruled flagrant during the game via the review process.

On the play in question, Pietrus chopped down hard into Gasol's back with both arms as the Spaniard was throwing down his second straight dunk in the final minute of overtime to seal the Los Angeles Lakers' 99-91 victory, good for a 3-1 series lead.

Gasol reacted angrily to the hit after briefly hanging on the rim and quickly confronted Pietrus, with each player getting hit with a technical foul after they were separated.

The foul, ruled a Flagrant Foul Penalty 1, was Pietrus' first flagrant of the postseason. It was also the first technical foul of the postseason for either player, after Gasol's technical against Denver on May 21 in the Western Conference finals was rescinded.

Loss hurts, but expected Pietrus suspension should finish Magic
June 12, 2009
By Ken Berger

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Rather than waste your time by going point-by-point through the Magic's catastrophic meltdown in Game 4 of the NBA Finals Thursday night, we'll start with something else.

We'll start with the one mistake that had the least to do with the outcome of this game -- a 99-91 overtime victory by the Lakers, giving them a commanding 3-1 series lead -- because it could, and should have the most to do with the outcome of the next game.

A team can overcome 15 missed free throws, 17 turnovers, a blown 12-point lead at home, Dwight Howard morphing into Nick Anderson at the free-throw line and the inability to defend or run an inbounds play at the most crucial point in the game. It would be hard, but the Magic could recover from all those things and win Game 5, because that is what they do. Since proving their mettle by taking down the defending champion Celtics, the Magic have been the most resilient team this postseason. Hats off to them for that.

But what they wouldn't be able to overcome is a decision that I believe should be coming from the NBA office on Friday. When Stu Jackson and his admirals look at the replay of Mickael Pietrus' vicious, dangerous foul on Pau Gasol with 3.4 seconds left in overtime Thursday night, I believe he will have no choice but to suspend Pietrus for Game 5.

For a team that is coming off a crippling loss -- the kind that breaks your will -- losing Pietrus would be devastating. He has become a key shot-maker and the closest thing the Magic have to a Kobe stopper. It would be the knockout blow.

But that's just too bad. Rules are rules.

"I just tried to finish the play and finish hard and somebody kind of punched me from behind," Gasol said. "To be honest, it wasn't a push; it was more of a punch. They were frustrated. I understand that, because it's hard to lose on your home floor and probably lose opportunities and chances to win this Final. But at the same time, you've got to be careful. You can't play too dirty or try to hurt somebody because that's punishable."

In addition to all their self-inflicted wounds, the Magic will spend the next two days lamenting some calls that didn't go their way. They'll point to Kobe Bryant's elbow connecting with Jameer Nelson's jaw on a double-team that led to Derek Fisher's 3-pointer, making it 94-91 with 31.3 seconds left in OT. They'll curse out loud when they see the replay that showed Trevor Ariza stepping out of bounds when he gathered in an offensive rebound leading to the aforementioned 3-pointer. But those are just calls, and sometimes the refs miss them.

What Pietrus did was inexcusable.

Pietrus was given a flagrant foul-penalty one by the referees, and each player received a technical. I was surprised to learn after the game, however, that the initial impression of league officials was that the foul will stand as called. But with the benefit of a more extensive replay review, several factors will jump out to Jackson and his staff and make it difficult for them not to upgrade it to a flagrant-two -- and perhaps, in my opinion, even suspend Pietrus for a game. That's what I think should happen.

Flixos, it will be interesting to see their decision, that's for sure. I don't want Orlando to have any excuses when they loose (which is why I was personally happy to see Nelson back in action), but I agree that, if Gasol's hands slip off the rim, he could have been severely injured.

However, what Pietrus has going for him is his reputation. The guy is not dirty, so, in criminal terms, this would be like a "first offense". At the end of the day, I bet he gets suspended though. It will be the closed fists that does him in.

1.) So, you're a 7-footer, just under the rim, OT, 4th game on Finals, a guy coming to you like a train, and what are you going to do, try a layup?. Pau did what he have to do like the smart player he is. Get the 2+1, and seal the game. I'm pretty sure about Pau would do the same at Staples, at Olympics, at Barcelona, even at home playing against his brothers. And i'm sure he didn´t dunk to send a message to anyone...just take a look how cool he went against Pietrus after the foul. Not looking for revenge at all.

sedale_threatt - the game is never over in the NBA finals, if you have a chance to close out a game for good, you do just that.. To avoid the Magic from trying to stop the clock and fouling Ariza, Ariza needed to move the ball and the only player on that side of the court was Gasol. Gasol did the right thing.. what is he supposed to do under the basket all alone? Besides, if the Magic gave up, then why would pietrus come running down to foul him? Gasol was point blank from the basket, Pietrus was some feet away...

If you suspend Pietrus then you need to suspend Kobe for the elbow to the face before Fish's three pointer. I say it is a wash, let them play.

I don't think Gasol should've dunked. It looked like Orlando was ready to concede the game, and if Gasol just dribbled it out of the paint, they wouldn't have fouled, and it would've been over.

As for Pietrus' foul, watching it live, it didn't look like a big deal at all. I thought Pietrus must've said something to Gasol to get him so angry (don't think I've ever seen Gasol that angry), but after review, it looked like a flagrant two foul. Should he? Yeah, at least in my opinion. But the better question is of course: Will he? I say no. They didn't suspend Dahntay Jones for basically the same thing, how can they justify suspending Pietrus?