Miller, who was woozy and required medical attention on his bloody mouth, missed the free throws and his team lost. Rondo's slap was the Play of the Game. "It won the game for us," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers, who discussed how he coaches his players to allow no layups and to deliver hard "playoff fouls" to prevent them. If a flagrant foul had been called, the Bulls could have chosen any of Miller's clearheaded teammates to shoot the free throws. Bottom line: Crime paid.

The NBA, by the way, ruled that it was not a flagrant foul — so the league deserves whatever it gets in the way of rough play from now on.

Two days later, Rondo was at it again in Game 6, shoving Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich into the scorer's table and throwing an elbow that missed. This time Rondo was hit with a flagrant foul.

In Game 3 of the Lakers-Rockets series, Artest was whistled for a Flagrant Foul Penalty Two for his hard foul of Pau Gasol, which brings an automatic ejection and suspension from the following game. Later, the league downgraded it to a regular foul and the suspension was voided.

Get the feeling the officials haven't a clue?

Orlando's Dwight Howard received a one-game suspension for an elbow he threw at the head of Philadelphia's Samuel Dalembert in Game 5. The NBA got this one right, too — later. Howard received only a technical foul during the game and was not ejected.

Rafer Alston was suspended for slapping Eddie House in the back of the head while the latter was celebrating a basket. They both received technicals during the game. The suspension was assessed a day later.

With one second left and his team trailing by two points, Denver's Carmelo Anthony sank a three-point shot to give his team a 3-0 series lead over Dallas. The trouble is, well before Anthony attempted the shot, Dallas's Antoine Wright delivered an obvious bump to Anthony in an attempt to draw a foul call, but the refs swallowed their whistles.

A day later, the NBA ruled that a foul should have been called, but the damage was done. By failing to make the call, the referees put players in a no-win situation: Either commit a flagrant foul and earn ejection/suspension to ensure they get a foul call when they need one; or, commit a softer foul that doesn't risk suspension/ejection but does risk a non-call and a game-winning shot.

Stay tuned; more bumps and bruises are coming. The NBA — Where trouble happens.

e-mail: drob@desnews.com