Sports Snapshots
From left, NBA referee Mark Ayotte talks with Blake Griffin, who played for the Los Angeles Clippers at the time but is now with the Detroit Pistons, as referee Dedric Taylor is also near during a preseason game in Los Angeles on Oct. 8, 2017. (AP file photo)
Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce, left, talks with NBA referee Mark Ayotte during the second half of a game against the Bulls on March 3, 2019, in Chicago. Ayotte is a Negaunee native who graduated from Michigan Tech University in 1987 and now resides in Glendale, Ariz. He has worked 900 regular-season and eight playoff games in more than 15 seasons in the NBA, according to the NBA Referees Association website. (AP file photo)
San Antonio Spurs forward Rudy Gay, right, argues for a call with referee Mark Ayotte during an NBA game against the Nuggets on April 3, 2019, in Denver. Prior to his career as an NBA referee, Ayotte worked as a systems design and test engineer with AG Communication Systems. (AP file photo)
NBA officials Mark Ayotte, left, and Aaron Smith chat on the court during a timeout of a game between the Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves on Feb. 7, 2019, in Orlando, Fla. (AP file photo)
NBA referee Mark Ayotte runs on the court during the first half of a game between the Pistons and Chicago Bulls on Jan. 11 in Detroit. Prior to the NBA, Ayotte worked as a referee in the WNBA for four years, in the CBA for three years and in the NBA G League for one year. He also has 12 years collegiate experience in NCAA Division I. (AP file photo)
The Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic, center, fist-bumps referee Mark Ayotte, left, and referee Kane Fitzgerald following Game 1 of an NBA first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers on Aug. 17 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP file photo)
From left, NBA referee Mark Ayotte talks with Blake Griffin, who played for the Los Angeles Clippers at the time but is now with the Detroit Pistons, as referee Dedric Taylor is also near during a preseason game in Los Angeles on Oct. 8, 2017. (AP file photo)
Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce, left, talks with NBA referee Mark Ayotte during the second half of a game against the Bulls on March 3, 2019, in Chicago. Ayotte is a Negaunee native who graduated from Michigan Tech University in 1987 and now resides in Glendale, Ariz. He has worked 900 regular-season and eight playoff games in more than 15 seasons in the NBA, according to the NBA Referees Association website. (AP file photo)
San Antonio Spurs forward Rudy Gay, right, argues for a call with referee Mark Ayotte during an NBA game against the Nuggets on April 3, 2019, in Denver. Prior to his career as an NBA referee, Ayotte worked as a systems design and test engineer with AG Communication Systems. (AP file photo)
NBA officials Mark Ayotte, left, and Aaron Smith chat on the court during a timeout of a game between the Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves on Feb. 7, 2019, in Orlando, Fla. (AP file photo)
NBA referee Mark Ayotte runs on the court during the first half of a game between the Pistons and Chicago Bulls on Jan. 11 in Detroit. Prior to the NBA, Ayotte worked as a referee in the WNBA for four years, in the CBA for three years and in the NBA G League for one year. He also has 12 years collegiate experience in NCAA Division I. (AP file photo)
The Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic, center, fist-bumps referee Mark Ayotte, left, and referee Kane Fitzgerald following Game 1 of an NBA first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers on Aug. 17 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP file photo)
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The best in sports photography from The Associated Press for NBA referee and Negaunee native Mark Ayotte