DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he plans to protest a two-point loss to Golden State after a messy sequence led to a layup against the Warriors on Wednesday night.
Kevon Looney had an easy inbounds layup on the Mavericks’ offensive end after a timeout late in the third quarter of Golden State’s 127-125 victory.
The Mavericks thought they had the ball after official Andy Nagy signaled the direction of Golden State’s possession, but then pointed to the Dallas bench to signal a timeout.
Looney protested when Nagy pointed to the Dallas bench, but Nagy appeared to explain that he was calling a timeout.
The announcer also noted that Dallas was awarded possession.
After the break, the Mavericks lined up in their offensive end, giving Looney an easy shot without a defender as the Warriors led 90-87 with 1:56 left in the third.
Cuban said he planned to protest after posting on Twitter that he believed the sequence was the “worst unofficial foul in NBA history.”
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said he plans to protest the two-point loss to the Warriors after a botched sequence led to an uncontested basket in Golden State’s 127-125 loss at Dallas.Getty Images
According to Dallas coach Jason Kidd, official Michael Smith thought the Mavericks had possession because he was on the same end of the floor as the Mavs.
“There were quite a few people out of position,” Kidd said. “It’s correctable, but first you have to admit it was a mistake.”
The Mavericks were without All-Star guard Kyrie Irving due to a sore right foot and fell to 1 ¹/₂ game behind the Warriors, who evened the season series 2-1.
Irving’s absence meant he and Doncic had played together in half of the 18 games since Irving’s debut following the success he brought over from Brooklyn.
Golden State (38-36) is in sixth place in the West for the final guaranteed spot.
Dallas (36-37) has dropped to ninth place – third out of four places to play.