Ball Don't Lie - NBA

One more time for the new comers: Two nights after Kobe's record-settin' 61 points at Madison Square Garden, LeBron James became the first player since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975 to record a triple-double in a game in which he also scored 50 or more points.

Or did he? Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnn ...

Via The FanHouse, check out this clip of LeBron's questionably credited ninth rebound.

I wish there was a better camera angle of the play — something from the baseline would be mint — but from the view of my non-ergonomic office chair that rebound sure looks like it belonged to Cavaliers forward Ben Wallace.

As Pollakoff points out: Big Ben controls the board with one hand, and when David Lee gets a little too close for comfort, he flips it to LeBron. No, Wallace never actually squeezes the ball, but if you were the official scorer, sans bias, who would you credit it to: Ben or LeBron? Let's hear it.

Feb. 6 Update: Wow. League officials just announced that they reviewed the game and ruled that the above rebound given to James should have been credited to Wallace. Goodbye, MSG triple-double. 

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  1. the REAL Headless Chicken
    1. Posted by the REAL Headless Chicken Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:12 pm EDT

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    10* REB
    Credit Ben. Or better: Team rebound.
    Though great accomplishment still, LeBron.
  2. Dwayne
    2. Posted by Dwayne Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:42 pm EDT

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    Even taking that one rebound off... still incredible. Kobe and LeBron are really taking this MVP battle to another level.
  3. imposibol
    3. Posted by imposibol Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:23 pm EDT

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    ben's
  4. porifrealvizhun
    4. Posted by porifrealvizhun Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:14 pm EDT

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    You can't call it Ben's because he never had control of it ... he kept it alive ... inbounds ... but LeBron controlled it. It's either LeBron's or a team (I personally try to give credit to a player whenever possible). There is often a question on 'tipped' rebounds ... was it a controlled tip (as Ben did often in his days with the Pistons) or, like this one, a random effort.
  5. jordan c
    5. Posted by jordan c Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:23 pm EDT

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    That was totally Ben's board
  6. Tiger (in the) Woods
    6. Posted by Tiger (in the) Woods Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:17 pm EDT

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    Wow!! triple double I geuss it's not hard if you bring your own stats man with you! Redhanded you can't even lie about that one....
  7. Mike C @ CavsHQ
    7. Posted by Mike C @ CavsHQ Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:19 pm EDT

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    I was watching the numbers pretty closely, and I was very surprised when they counted this as LeBron's rebound.
    If it's any consolation, the MSG scorers weren't giving Ben Wallace any of those tip-rebounds as his own, as the official scorer credited Wallace with just one rebound on the night. Wallace had a number of tip rebounds, many on the offensive end (whoever was keeping the scorebook at Stats.com had him credited with 4 offensive rebounds during the game...the NBA had him at 0). I'm not saying it's right, but it was the way the scorer was handling Wallace's rebounds throughout the night.
  8. mcwelk
    8. Posted by mcwelk Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:14 pm EDT

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    The Yahoo! gamecast only had him listed with 9 when the game ended so I assumed it was some hijinks by the scorers.
  9. Zach H. from Talk H.
    9. Posted by Zach H. from Talk H. Thu Sep 03, 2009 11:00 pm EDT

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    I'd give the board to Eric Snow. He looks like he could use it.
  10. Mainevent
    10. Posted by Mainevent Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:50 pm EDT

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    No debate, Lebron clearly got the rebound. Wallace bobbled it at first, but didn't have possession.
  11. Brett S
    11. Posted by Brett S Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:27 pm EDT

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    i dunno how they teach stats in New York but 6 of Ben's 7 rebounds were credited to other Cavs.
  12. curtis
    12. Posted by curtis Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:18 pm EDT

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    That's Ben's rebound. But the Cav's moved as a team and not alone as LeBron welcomed the Knicks to the Terrordome! P.E. in the house!
  13. rbownsyou
    13. Posted by rbownsyou Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:31 pm EDT

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    people act as if this isn't a common phenomenon. big rebounders and assisters almost always get the benefit of the doubt. have you ever actually watched the assist total tally up when cp3 is playing? some of his assists are extreeeemely iffy: paul passes to his teammate. teammate dribbles a few times, makes a cut, comes to a stop, brings the ball over their head looking to pass it out for about 2 seconds, decides to shoot instead, drains it, and magically paul gets the dime. it's just the way of the world when you're star.
  14. Harrison Keith
    14. Posted by Harrison Keith Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:19 pm EDT

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    Tripple double shenanigans will never be as good as Ricky Davis' infamous self rebound off his own board, at the opposite end of the court from play. I believe he was also with the Cavaliers when he did this too.
  15. Onik
    15. Posted by Onik Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:41 pm EDT

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    Wins matter. I credit that to the Cavs.
  16. C
    16. Posted by C Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:33 pm EDT

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    Yeah, the stat keepers were really off that night. Did you see those two travels that they counted as baskets?
  17. chacharles
    17. Posted by chacharles Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:21 pm EDT

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    i would put an * on lebron's last rebound
    that's just racing for the stat
  18. Beer Is My Anti-Drug
    18. Posted by Beer Is My Anti-Drug Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:19 pm EDT

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    Ruckus Roger writes: "Either way, KNICKS RULE, CAVS DROOL. "
    Really dude? Last I checked A. The Cavs beat the Knicks, in NYC, again, B. The Knicks are 21-27 and a mere 19 games back of first while the Cavs are 39-9 (the second best record in the NBA) and are undefeated at home. I think you got you're statement backwards.
  19. Beer Is My Anti-Drug
    19. Posted by Beer Is My Anti-Drug Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:19 pm EDT

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    @ Harrison K - you are correct sir. Ricky was a Cavalier when he attempted the triple double by shooting at the wrong basket.
  20. UnbiasedFan-idiot Dirk Nut Hugger,
    20. Posted by UnbiasedFan-idiot Dirk Nut Hugger, Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:53 pm EDT

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    J.e skeets is my favorite sport writer here in yahoo sport. he exposed the untruth beyond the truth. keep up the good works skeets. 5 star for you. kd sucks.
  21. CB
    21. Posted by CB Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:17 pm EDT

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    i dunno to me it looks like wallace never had control of the reb..... i do say that i wish there was a closer angle but from that view wallace never secured the board.. whoever posted this on youtube is digging tooo deep to try to find anything..
    so if this was football and skeets is throwing out the red flag... the ref would come back wit indisputable evidence and the play cannot be overturned. you would be charged a time out lol
  22. UnbiasedFan-idiot Dirk Nut Hugger,
    22. Posted by UnbiasedFan-idiot Dirk Nut Hugger, Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:53 pm EDT

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    Lebron stole the ball from big ben, he badly need this for his triple double. ben wallace has a good handball grip but lebron need this one veryyyyy badly. what a selfish man-lebronze-me
  23. Tito
    23. Posted by Tito Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:09 pm EDT

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    @ Ruckus Rogers
    Really man, why so much hate for Skeets? Did he write this article. No. All he is doing is reporting what could have been and have his opinion. Really guy. Give the man a break.
  24. Matt Leung
    24. Posted by Matt Leung Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:23 pm EDT

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    ahahaha ruckus roger i agree with number 5
  25. the REAL Headless Chicken
    25. Posted by the REAL Headless Chicken Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:12 pm EDT

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    Ruckus is right we should contest the Knicks' win in this loss. No wait, what? Fugiddaboudit.

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