The NBA has fined Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban $500,000 and rejected the Mavs' petition to replay the final seconds of a Feb. 22 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Cuban assailed the league’s officiating leadership and system in a wild tirade, coming on the court twice in the final minutes to confront the referees:
The NBA has denied the Dallas Mavericks’ protest from their 2/22 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. The league also fined Mark Cuban $500,000 for his criticism of NBA officiating. pic.twitter.com/xzPuap1kAm
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 6, 2020
Cuban protested a Dorian Finney-Smith block that was inadvertently whistled for goaltending, which led to a tip-in for Hawks forward John Collins to help the Hawks to a four-point lead with nine seconds left in regulation.
Referee Rodney Mott ruled Collins’ tip-in as a continuation of the play after the whistle, one that Cuban thought should have resulted in a jump ball, with the score returning to 109-107.
A potential jump ball would have given the Mavs another chance for one final possession before the final whistle, giving them a chance to tie or even win the game.
Cuban felt very optimistic about his chances to win this protest, but he wound up rebuked and short an extra half-a-million for his troubles. The outspoken owner openly criticized he officiating on the court, then went into social media to further explain his point:
https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1231411413068984320?s=20
https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1231415756006600705?s=20
This was not looked at very fondly by the league office, who has made it a point to ask teams to handle any qualms through its respective mediums, either by calling the league office or submitting a protest.
The Houston Rockets also protested a missed James Harden dunk earlier this season, asking to replay part of the fourth quarter, but they were met with a resounding no from the league upon their appeal.
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