MESA, ARIZ. ? My reaction when I heard the latest Tim Donaghy allegations Tuesday?

“He’s just angling for a shorter sentence.”

After all, we’re talking about a convicted felon and cheat who is facing up to 33 months in prison. Why wouldn’t he try to save his skin by defaming others?

Upon reaching that sensible deduction, I left work, my faith in the venerable NBA intact.

But my mind wouldn’t let it go so easily.

Maybe it was a product of years spent watching officiating so woefully inconsistent that NBA coaches and general managers regularly complain about it privately.

Maybe it was the fervor with which Commissioner David Stern attacked Donaghy’s contention that more refs were involved in game-fixing than just he – and that they were in cahoots with league officials.

If forced to decide whom I trust more between Stern and Donaghy, I’d probably have to flip a coin.

But most likely, it was the details of Donaghy’s latest revelation that gave me pause.

In papers filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in New York by his attorney John F. Lauro, Donaghy claimed that some referees who socialized often with coaches and players, got free meals from coaches and managers and autographs from players, would call fouls with prejudice and extend playoff series.

Using numbers to maintain club anonymity, Donaghy claimed that one 2002 playoff series was rigged in favor of a team that was trailing 3-2 in games.

“Personal fouls were ignored even when they occurred in full view of the referees. Conversely, the referees called made-up fouls on Team 5 in order to give additional free-throw opportunities for Team 6.”

Only the L.A. Lakers-Sacramento Kings series went to seven games that year, and I distinctly remember watching Game 6 of that series in disbelief as the Lakers shot 27 free throws in the final quarter to beat the Kings and rally to win the series.

There are plenty of reasons to doubt Donaghy’s claims.

¢ Neither the U.S. attorney’s office nor the FBI found any additional wrong-doing, and Donaghy still hasn’t named names.

¢ Why would the NBA want to risk the reputation of an already successful product by fixing games?

¢ And if this were about maximizing revenue by getting the biggest market teams and most attractive stars to the Finals, why would the ratings-challenged San Antonio Spurs be allowed to advance to four NBA Finals and win two lotteries while the New York Knicks are annual jokes?

The problem is, every time I find a reason not to believe Donaghy, I find another that makes me waver.

¢ Is it so unreasonable to think that relationships between officials and coaches might affect outcomes?

¢ Is it so unreasonable to think that businesses sometimes sacrifice ethics in order to increase revenue?

¢ And if Donaghy were making this all up, why would he harken all the way back to 2002 to find an example of game-fixing if he wanted the news to have maximum impact?

Why not, for example, choose a recent series (say the 2007 Suns-Spurs series) that still boils fans’ blood?

Again, I am no conspiracy theorist.

Like so many fans, I want to dismiss Donaghy and every possibility he represents.