According to the Denver Post, one of the Denver Nuggets players claimed that the Lakers had paid off the referees in order to get the win in last night's game 5 of their Western Conference Finals.

Of course, he said it anonymously. And I'm betting that his name won't be leaked, since it would likely result in a huge penalty by the league, and a target on his back for referees for the rest of his career. Since he said it to a Denver reporter, the reporter likely won't give up his name... at least as long as he's on the Nuggets.

"The Lakers paid $50,000 to win that game. They got their money's worth."

If indeed they paid for the win, then they absolutely DID get their money's worth. A win in game 5 of an even series is absolutely huge, and obviously the Nuggets have their backs against the wall.

He could have been referring to the fine that Phil Jackson and the Lakers were forced to pay after his comments about the officiating after the Nuggets' convincing Game 4 win. Perhaps the refs were trying to make up for angering the Zen Master. But it sure sounds like he means more than just that.

But was the game really fixed? Let's take a look:

-The Nuggets were called for 30 fouls, the Lakers were called for 22
-Nene Hilario fouled out, while his Lakers counterpart Pau Gasol was only called for 1 foul

But then again, the Nuggets shot 38.6% from the floor, and Carmelo Anthony was the only player on the team with more than 12 points. Was that because of the refs? Or were they just not shooting well? It's hard to win a playoff game when there is such a lack of offensive contribution.

Let's be honest here. There were mistakes made by the refs. There always are. If you've been watching the playoffs regularly this year, you can probably think of at least one atrocious call per game. And if you went back and watched them again, I'm sure you could point out at least 5 awful calls per game. Not questionable calls, but blatantly wrong. That's the officiating in the NBA. Get used to it.

So who was the player who called out the refs? Let's see...



Was it Birdman? He looks upset at something, possibly pointing out a bad call here.



Chauncey Billups obviously looks pretty heated here, probably about a call or non-call.



Was it JR Smith, he of the incredulous face in this picture?



Or perhaps Carmelo Anthony, who looks like he has that resigned look on his face, when he knows they're not going to get the calls either way, so he should just laugh about it. We saw this look on Dwight Howard's face the other night.

Who do you think said it? And should the NBA investigate it and seek punishment? Does it reflect poorly on the integrity of the league, or is it just par for the course? What do you think?


50 grand buys a playoff win [Denver Post]