Finley’s controversial 3 leads Spurs past Kings

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)—Michael Finley might have been the only person in Arco Arena who didn’t realize his winning 3-pointer almost certainly didn’t leave his hands before the 24-second clock expired. He was too busy catching Tony Parker’s pass and launching it to pay attention to the red 00 above the hoop.

Kings guard Bobby Jackson certainly saw it. He also couldn’t help noticing that the team with four championships and 12 straight playoff berths got the break and the franchise with the NBA’s worst record got one more reason to hate this season.

Finley’s 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left counted despite a fairly obvious shot-clock violation, and San Antonio came from behind for a 95-92 victory over Sacramento on Sunday night.

“It was just a bad call, period,” said Jackson, who scored 11 points. “I think at the end of the day, you’ve got to call the game the way it’s supposed to be called. We fought … and that’s all we can do. It comes down to one last call, and it was in the refs’ hands. That’s how it goes sometimes.”

Parker had 25 points and nine assists—including the pass to Finley for the winner that probably wasn’t—as the Spurs moved into a tie with Houston atop the Southwest Division with two games left despite keeping Tim Duncan out of uniform to rest his sore knees.

Spencer Hawes scored a career-high 24 points for the Kings, who played without star Kevin Martin for the sixth straight game because of a sore left ankle. After the game, Natt said Martin won’t play in Sacramento’s two season-ending road contests.