Phoenix » The game was over except for the final 0.2 seconds, put back on the clock by video review after Grant Hill fouled Ronnie Price on a breakaway. Amar'e Stoudemire already had scored an unstoppable 44 points, the most by Jazz opponent all season.
It was a lost Friday night in every respect, with Mehmet Okur taking ill in the second quarter, Deron Williams not playing in the fourth quarter and the Jazz headed to a 110-100 loss at US Airways Center. Yet somehow it ended on an even worse note.
Arguing with referee Michael Smith along the sideline, Sloan shoved Smith in the chest with his forearm and was ejected for the first time this season. Sloan previously was suspended seven games for shoving referee Courtney Kirkland in a January 2003 game.
"I had put my arm up to keep him from coming any farther," Sloan said. "I've had trouble with him [Smith] before. So that's why I did that."
"I worry about getting hit," Sloan added. "That's what I was worried about. Take it from there."
Before he shoved Smith, Sloan had to be blocked by arena security guards from approaching the referee crew of Smith, Dick Bavetta and Phil Robinson as they conducted their video review at the scorer's table.
It is NBA policy for arena security to position themselves between the benches and the referees during reviews. Sloan made contact and backed up one guard before two others arrived to help restrain him. Once the review was over, Sloan took things up with Smith.
Sloan said he was was upset that Stoudemire was standing in front of the Jazz bench following Hill's foul on Price.
"He wasn't supposed to be there," Sloan said. "That's what my complaint was about."
"The game was over, according to the clock," said Stoudemire, who checked out of the game with 2:08 remaining. "I ran down to give my guys high-fives like I always do after every game. I think that's just an excuse he's making up."
The Jazz will play host to New Orleans tonight at EnergySolutions Arena. Sloan was asked if he was concerned that the NBA would take a dimmer view of the sequence of events that led him to shove Smith.
"I'm not going to lie to them," Sloan said. "Whatever penalties they have, I'm not going to run and hide from it or beg for somebody to . . . .I've been there before. It's not my first rodeo."
It had been a remarkably quiet season for Sloan with respect to the referees before Friday's incident. He had been called for only three technicals - - one fewer than Okur - - and previously said he had been trying to better control himself.
"I didn't get to see everything that went on with coach," Price said. "I know that he was on our side, that he was fighting for us. I guess that's the most important thing, that we know that he was fighting for us and we'd do the same for him."
Sloan's ejection overshadowed the game for the Jazz. Stoudemire scored the Suns' first 11 points in the first quarter and had another 18 in the fourth. He made 14 of 16 shots and 16 of 18 free throws, seemingly finishing three-point plays at will.
"A lot of pick-and-roll stuff, a lot of post-ups, a lot of free throws," Carlos Boozer said. "He took it to us, man. He dominated the game."
Stoudemire's 44 points were only six points shy of his career high. He eclipsed the 40 points Dirk Nowitzki scored in a Nov. 3 game for the most by an opposing player against the Jazz this season. Robin Lopez added 19 points and 10 rebounds for Phoenix.
The Suns never trailed against the shorthanded Jazz, who were without Andrei Kirilenko (strained calf) from the beginning and lost Okur to a possible stomach virus in the second quarter. Okur spent the second half receiving IV fluids in the locker room.
Sloan opened the second half with Kyrylo Fesenko in for Okur, then gave Fesenko an earful when he came out after picking up three fouls. Moments later, Sloan got up and confronted Fesenko at the end of the bench, saying afterward that Fesenko had thrown a towel.
Williams spent the entire fourth quarter on the bench, finishing with 13 points and six assists, with the Jazz unable to mount a third comeback in as many games against Phoenix this season. Boozer led the Jazz with 23 points and 16 rebounds but went 10-for-23.
"Just a bad game," Williams said. "A game we want to forget about and move on to the next one."
