Mavericks will file a protest after a loss vs. Warriors / News - Basketnews.com

The Dallas Mavericks will file a protest after a 2-point loss against the Warriors due to confusion about which team had possession of the ball led to an uncontested dunk for the Warriors late in the third quarter.

Credit: AFP-Scanpix Credit AFP-Scanpix

The Dallas Mavericks will file a protest after a 2-point loss against the Golden State Warriors.

Player of the Game EFF 24 Stephen Curry Points 20 Accuracy 9-18 Rebounds 5 Assists 13

Such a decision was made due to confusion about which team had possession of the ball led to an uncontested dunk for the Warriors late in the third quarter, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban told ESPN.

Coming out of a timeout, Warriors center Kevon Looney had a free dunk on an inbound play with 1:56 left in the third quarter. The Mavericks, believing they had possession, were lined up on their offensive end of the court, which Cuban attributed to an officiating error.

For those wondering about the play with 1:54 to go on the 3rd, let me explain what happened. The ref called the Mavs ball. The announcer announced it. Then there was a timeout. During the time out, the official changed the call and never told us," Cuban wrote on Twitter. "Then, when they saw us line up as if it were our ball, he just gave the ball to the Warriors."

"Never said a word to us. They got an easy basketball. Crazy that it would matter in a 2-point game. Worst officiating non-call mistake possibly in the history of the NBA. All they had to do was tell us, and they didn't," Cuban continued.

According to the NBA constitution, the Mavericks must file his protest in writing within the next 48 hours. After commissioner Adam Silver receives the protest, the Warriors will be notified, and each team will have five days to file evidence to support its case.

Silver will rule on the case within five days of receiving the evidence. Cuban's protest must also be accompanied by a protest fee of $10,000, which will be refunded if the protest prevails or forfeited if it doesn't.

Free throws this season

75%19,4Points made:19,4Accuracy:75,3%Place in standings:9Record max:35Record min:6Most made FTs:Luka DoncicTeamNBAStatisticsSchedule

The most recent protest in the NBA was also filed by the Mavericks for their game against the Hawks on Feb. 22, 2020. The Mavs lost the protest.

The last successful protest in the NBA came in January 2008.

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd believes that officialMichael Smithalso must have thought it was the Mavericks ball because he was positioned on the same end of the floor as the Mavs coming out of the timeout.

"There was quite a few people out of position," Kidd said. "It's correctable, but you first have to admit there was a mistake."

Luka Doncic also admitted that he didn't understand what was going on.

"I was surprised," Doncic said about Looney's uncontested dunk. "I was like, 'What is that?' I've never seen that happen in my life."

Meanwhile, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was confused about the whole situation. However, he was certain it was the Warriors possession.

"When they were down at the other end, I had to stop and think, 'Is this right?'" Kerr said. "I thought it was pretty clear that it was our ball, and that's why I was drawing up a play out of bounds on the baseline."

After tonight's loss, Dallas has a 36-37 record and dropped to 9th place in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, the Warriors (38-36) jumped to 6th place, which secures a guaranteed spot in the first round of the playoffs.

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