NEW YORK — NBA owners have approved a rules change regarding violations for too many men on the court, closing a loophole that allowed Portland to score on a 6-on-5 situation earlier this season.

If a team is given a technical foul for having too many players, the non-offending team can choose to accept or nullify the action that took place before the whistle blew. If the team playing with five scores, it can keep the points.

Should that team nullify the play, the game clock reverts to the time before the ball was put in play with too many players on the floor.

The rule was announced Thursday and will take effect Friday.

The Trail Blazers made a basket against Boston in December with six men on the floor. They were whistled for a technical, but were allowed to keep their two points because the violation wasn't caught before they scored.