Did a referee conspiracy against Allen Iverson help the Jazz to a Jan. 6, 2007 victory over the Denver Nuggets? Disgraced former referee Tim Donaghy charged as much in his Sunday night interview with "60 Minutes." Donaghy alleged the referee crew that night -- himself, Bernie Fryer and Gary Zielinski -- took matters into their own hands after the NBA opted a day earlier to fine Iverson $25,000 but did not suspend him for threatening referee Steve Javie . "We felt as a group that he should have been suspended and because he wasn't, we felt like we would teach him a lesson," Donaghy said, adding, "I know that the other two referees and I sought out to do a little justice on our own."
Donaghy narrated two clips from the game in which Iverson was called for a first-quarter palming violation as well as a fourth-quarter drive for a layup in which former Jazz guard Derek Fisher made contact with Iverson with no foul called.
Donaghy said the referees resolved that Iverson was not going to get the benefit of the whistle on any "marginal play to the basket" and that an NBA group supervisor came into the locker room at halftime laughing that Iverson "had gotten the message."
Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor and coach Jerry Sloan admitted watching Donaghy's interview but both declined to comment about the implications. "I don't think we're supposed to react," Sloan said. "We keep our mouth shut on those things."
Donaghy said he bet against the Nuggets in the game. Iverson finished with 22 points and eight assists in 44 minutes but went 5-for-19 from the field and committed five turnovers. The Jazz won 96-84.
The Jazz privately questioned how much impact the officiating had, even if Donaghy's claims were true, given that they built a 16-point lead by halftime. Iverson also shot the most free throws of any player in the game, going 11-for-12 at the foul line.
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Injury report
With a full schedule of games this week, Kyle Korver (left knee surgery) and Ronnie Price (sprained left big toe) will have less chance to measure their progress in recovering from the injuries that have kept them out of a combined 33 games.
Korver said he is still struggling to lead with his left foot, especially in trying to turn quickly and shoot. He described dealing with "really sharp pain with certain movements still. Until that goes away, I can't really play that well."
Price has started to run again and take part in on-court workouts, though not full-speed or with contact. He estimated that he was 75 percent recovered.
rsiler@sltrib.com
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