On one hand, I get it, referees. The rules of the NBA clearly state that field goals attempted after time expires cannot be counted if made. Since the ball wasn't out of Marcus Camby's hand before the end of the third quarter of the Houston Rockets' matchup with the Sacramento Kings on Monday night, the basket has to be waved off, because the law is the law, and if we don't abide by it, there'll be anarchy. Fair enough. On the other, though, Camby has made 16 three-pointers in more than 15 years as an NBA player, and he just found paydirt on what looked to be about an 85-footer. In situations like that, you should be able to give him at least one point, and perhaps even 1.5 points. It'd be the charitable thing to do, I think, especially in this season of giving (wait, it's not December? Lousy Smarch weather in Brooklyn ). Even one or 1.5 points on Camby's near-length-of-the-court baseball pass (no crow hop; that'd be traveling) might have meant the difference in helping his Rockets put away the Kings in regulation rather than having to sweat out a 113-106 overtime win . Luckily, Camby was able to rely on a balanced scoring effort (seven Rockets hit double-figures), a dynamite game from Patrick Patterson (a career-high 24 points on 16 shots off the Houston bench) and four huge late-in-OT free throws from the just-signed Earl Boykins (pressed into duty after backup point guard Goran Dragic, in for injured starter Kyle Lowry, turned his ankle late in extra time) to seal the win. The only thing that would have made Camby's heave cooler is if it actually counted, like the one Paul George launched just before halftime of the Indiana Pacers' game against the Miami Heat on Monday.
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