NBA referee Crawford suspended for actions toward Spurs’ Duncan

NEW YORK – NBA referee Joey Crawford was suspended indefinitely by commissioner David Stern on Tuesday for his conduct toward Tim Duncan, who contends the official challenged him to a fight.\nCrawford, who has worked more playoff games than any active ref, ejected Duncan from a game in Dallas on Sunday. He called a second technical foul on the San Antonio Spurs star while he was on the bench.\n“He looked at me and said, ‘Do you want to fight? Do you want to fight?’” Duncan said. “If he wants to fight, we can fight. I don’t have any problem with him, but we can do it if he wants to. I have no reason why in the middle of a game he would yell at me, ‘Do you want to fight?’”\nCrawford’s suspension will last at least through the NBA finals. He apparently will have to meet with Stern after that to discuss reinstatement.\nThe NBA also fined Duncan $25,000 for verbal abuse of an official. Crawford said Duncan referred to him with an expletive.\nStern said Crawford’s actions “failed to meet the standards of professionalism and game management we expect of NBA referees.”\n“Especially in light of similar prior acts by this official, a significant suspension is \nwarranted,” Stern said in a statement. “Although Joey is consistently rated as one of our top referees, he must be held accountable for his actions on the floor, and we will have further discussions with him following the season to be sure he understands his responsibilities.”\nCrawford comes from an officiating family. His brother, Jerry, is a major league umpire, as was his father, Shag.\nJoey Crawford is in his 29th season as an NBA referee. He has officiated more than 2,000 games during the regular season and 252 in the playoffs, including 36 in the NBA finals.\nBut his temper has gotten him noticed before, especially in Game 2 of the 2003 Western Conference finals, a matchup involving the same teams as in Sunday’s game. Crawford called four technical fouls in the first 10-plus minutes, leading to ejections of then-Mavs coach Don Nelson and assistant Del Harris.\nCrawford also called a technical in a recent game against Duncan, who said Sunday that Crawford has a “personal vendetta against me.”\nDuncan was called for his first technical foul Sunday with 2:20 remaining in the third quarter for arguing about an offensive foul. Crawford hit him with the second technical 1:16 later after Duncan was on the bench laughing about a call that went against the Spurs.\nWith Duncan gone, the Mavericks rallied to beat the Spurs, ending San Antonio’s chance of earning the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.