After the backlash it has received from Mark Cuban and Dallas Mavericks fans, the NBA has issued an explanation on the major blunder that occurred in the third quarter of the game against the Golden State Warriors that ended up being costly for the Mavs.
To recall, the Warriors got an easy two with 1:54 left in the third quarter after the Mavs defended the wrong basket. Apparently, Dallas thought they had the ball possession following the timeout and lined up on their side of the court. However, the referees gave the possession to the Dubs who were already on their end ready to initiate the offense. Realizing the error, Golden State quickly inbounded the ball and scored to take the 90-87 lead.
It came back biting Dallas as they lost the game, 127-125. Cuban then explained that the referees initially signaled that the Mavs had the ball, only to change it after the timeout without informing them. Cuban called it the “worst officiating non call” ever.
In response to the controversial refereeing mistake, NBA Crew Chief Sean Wright said that the original call was really Warriors ball, while a second signal was made for the Mavs' timeout.
“Initially on the floor the original signal was in fact Golden State ball as this can be seen on video. There is a second signal but that signal is for a mandatory timeout that was due to the Mavs,” Wright said, via ClutchPoints Twitter.
Sure enough, it's easy to see where the confusion started. While the referees indeed pointed at the Dubs for the possession, the second signal that quickly followed made it look like Dallas would have the ball. Sure enough, the referees could have clarified the situation better.
The ref saying Mavs ball before the timeout in 4K: pic.twitter.com/eAHj7HfUSo
— MFFL (@Mavs_FFL) March 23, 2023
Mark Cuban and co. revealed their plan to protest the horrible error, though it's unlikely to change anything. It was just a bad day for the Mavs overall.
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