NBA referees, influenced by league officials, rigged a 2002 playoff series to force it to a revenue-boosting seven games, a former referee at the center of a gambling sandal alleged Tuesday ... In one of several allegations of corrupt refereeing, Donaghy said he learned in May 2002 that two referees known as "company men" were working a series in which "Team 5" was leading 3-2. In the sixth game, he alleged the referees called "made-up fouls on Team 5 to give additional free throw opportunities for Team 6."

The thing is, only one series went seven games that year: Lakers-Kings. And it plays out EXACTLY according to Donaghy's allegations. Kings were up 3-2 in the series. Lakers won Game 6 106-102 after shooting 27 free throws in the final quarter and scoring 16 of their last 18 points at the charity stripe. At the time Ralph Nader and a sports watchdog group called the League of Fans actually wrote Stern a letter complaining of the Game 6 officiating.