Brown Calls Refs Unfair to Wallace

Taking a swipe at the referees without naming names, Detroit Piston Coach Larry Brown charged Monday that some officials have tried to antagonize forward Rasheed Wallace.

“It’s just not right, it’s not fair,” said Brown, whose Pistons lead the New Jersey Nets, 2-1, in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal. “I just think they disrespect the kid in general, that’s the bottom line. They can fine me or whatever they want, I’m just telling you a fact.”

Brown was angered after Wallace was limited to 22 minutes because of foul trouble in New Jersey’s 82-64 victory in Game 3.

Game 4 is today.

Wallace went to the bench with two fouls before Detroit scored, and the Pistons were down 18 by the time the volatile forward returned four minutes into the second quarter.

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The New Orleans Hornets want to interview Byron Scott for their vacant coaching position, league sources told ESPN.com.

No meeting with Scott has been formally set, but ESPN.com reported that Hornet owner George Shinn has strong interest in the former Net coach as part of his desire to replace Tim Floyd with a proven NBA winner. Floyd was fired last week. Scott was replaced in January.

New Orleans native Avery Johnson, Hornet assistant Alvin Gentry and TNT analyst Mike Fratello are also thought to be candidates.