Definitely not, it was clear that the ref over-reacted and this is a big problem for the NBA. The league's authority over games comes from the officials who are suppossed to be impartial and fair. When they become over-emotional and start blowing calls or making up calls, they can really influence a game in a negative way.
It also may have had an impact on the games outcome., since any chance the Celtics had to win that game left the floor with Perkins, who is the only real defender they have to guard against Howard.
The conference finals have certainly heated up since the favorites took early 2 game leads. When the losing team comes back and wins 2 in a row, including one on the opposing teams home floor. You can't consider them underdogs any longer. The Lakers and Celtics are the older more experienced teams, but the Suns and Magic are learning quickly and both teams were good enough to make adjustments that now give them the advantage. Now these more experienced teams have to figure out how to adjust, and it's not immediately apparent if they can.
In the past two games Orlando has looked like a different team, able to generate points almost at will and putting up great defensive effort. The Suns have thrown a simple zone at LA, and they still haven't been able to figure it out after two games. Right now, I'm looking for both of the underdogs to now win the series, because once a team wins twice against it's opponent, that opponent loses any psychological advantage and it in fact goes to the other team.
The uncertainty is now with the Celtics and Lakers, as both of these teams have to prove that they can overcome the strategies employed, after failing twice.
