The Dallas Mavericks put up a gallant stand Wednesday night at home against the visiting New York Knicks, but when it was all said and done on the court, Jalen Brunson and company escaped the American Airlines Center in Dallas with a 113-111 victory.
The Mavs still had a shot at either winning the game with a 3-pointer or tying it with a two-point bucket near the end of regulation, but a layup basket by Dallas guard Brandon Williams was negated after he got whistled for an offensive foul.
With just 3.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Knicks up by two points, Dallas inbounded the ball from the other side of the court, with Dereck Lively II getting the leather before handing it to Williams, who quickly drove to the basket. The ball went in, but the offensive foul call prevented it from getting counted.
With just under a second left, the Knicks simply ran out the clock and secured their first win away from the Big Apple in the 2025-26 NBA season.
Brandon Williams got the game tying bucket to fall but it was ruled an offensive foul 😳
Was this the right call?
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 20, 2025
Fans immediately took to social media to voice their reactions to the wild finish.
“This just isn’t a foul by Brandon Williams. This is blatant Vegas gambling. If refs didn’t have headsets this call wouldn’t have happened,” a fan on X, formerly Twitter, shared.
Here's another wild reaction: “The FBI needs to look into the ref that just called an offensive foul on Brandon Williams LOL. That guy had his entire net worth on Knicks moneyline.”
From another social media user: “Still in shock they called an offensive foul on Brandon Williams for that?!?!”
“Dallas really lost because the refs hit Square instead of Triangle 💀🎮,” a different comment read.
Without Cooper Flagg, the Mavericks still gave the Knicks a tough fight, with Naji Marshall and D'Angelo Russell each scoring 23 points off the bench. Meanwhile, Brunson, a former Dallas player, led all scorers in the contest with 28 points.
The Mavericks, who drop to 4-12, will look to turn things around this Friday against the New Orleans Saints at home. They will meet New York again on Jan. 19 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
