Just as Chen Yu picked up Ronaldo and Batty to head for their hotel, another trio arrived in Phoenix by plane.
The leader, a man in his fifties, briskly carried his own large suitcase. His signature bald head identified him as the NBA's renowned "golden whistle," Joseph Joey Crawford.
The other two accompanying him included a tall man named Michael Henderson, who stood over six-foot-three.
This was his second year as an official NBA referee, and his face was perpetually stern.
The last man was Tom Washington, a black man with a serious-looking pencil mustache. He had been in the league for 11 years and was highly experienced.
A car was waiting to pick them up, and the trio quickly arrived at a hotel near the US Airways Center.
The three first took a moment to unpack their personal luggage.
They would be officiating two games in Phoenix and staying for at least three days.
Once settled, the three gathered in Crawford's room to watch game footage on a laptop.
