Hue Hollins Calls Foul Against Scottie Pippen: 15 Years Later

"I don't understand," Hollins says. "I worked in the NBA for 27 years and had an exemplary record as one of the top referees in the NBA. People harp on one call. Why? It was Game 5 of a seven-game series. They had to play two more. I don't know why it has resonated with people in the media. It was one game, one call. If Scottie hadn't fouled him, I wouldn't have called it.

The Knicks set up a screen-and-roll for John Starks and Patrick Ewing on the right side. It was one of their go-to calls, a play similar to the one they ran the year before in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference finals series that resulted in Starks' famous dunk over Michael Jordan and Horace Grant. This time the Bulls flooded the right side with help defenders as Starks came off the screen. With nowhere to go, Starks passed out top to Hubert Davis, who had his right foot inside the 3-point arc. Scottie Pippen was one of the defenders clogging the middle, and he raced back out to Davis as he gathered himself for the shot.

"It was amazing how quickly Scottie got there," Davis notes, having seen a replay of the ending a few years ago. "He's in the middle of the lane when I caught the ball."

Pippen got back a split-second too late, Davis released the ball and then Pippen made contact with Davis' arms on the follow-through. The shot bounced off the right side of the rim, and for the briefest of moments it appeared the Bulls were going to win the game. But Hollins had blown his whistle, a late whistle, just as the shot was approaching the rim.

One of the most debated calls in NBA history occurred during the 1994 Playoffs when Hue Hollins called a foul against Scottie Pippen, in the last seconds of the Eastern Conference Finals. Having watched NBA basketball all my life, I never understood how this call was so important. Here’s the breakdown: The Bulls were up by one with only a few seconds remaining and the refs blew a late whistle on Scottie Pippen as he brushed by Hubert Davis after the shot. Davis made the free throws and the Knicks went on to win both the game and series.