The Dallas Mavericks are planning to protest what owner Mark Cuban has called the ‘worst officiating non-call mistake’ in the history of the NBA.
The Mavericks took on Golden State in a match that finished 127-125 to the Warriors following a stunning referee controversy.
The incident happened in the third quarter of the fixture with the Mavs trailing 88-87 with just three minutes remaining of the period.
Heading into a timeout believing they would be returned the ball when play resumed, they lined up for an offensive play.
However, the Warriors also lined up similarly on the other end of the court by their own basket.
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Despite the confusion, the referee decided to blow the whistle and awarded the play to the Warriors who went on to score the easiest two points in perhaps the history of basketball.
The two points were decisive come to the end of the game with a margin of just two between the teams.
While some online believed the Mavericks player has simply made a mistake, owner Cuban took to Twitter to explain what the team believed had happened.
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He tweeted: "For those wondering about the play with 1:54 to go on the 3rd, let me explain what happened. The ref called Mavs ball. The announcer announced it. Then there was a timeout.
"During the time out the official changed the call and never told.
"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 two-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 confirmed the team would be protesting the decision to the NBA.
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Some fans online pointed to the fact that the referee had clearly made the call that it was the Warriror ball, before then signalling that Dallas had a timeout.
Fans online seemed bemused by the Mavs’ misfortune, however, Cuban maintained that the referees hadn’t been on the same page.
Topics: NBA, Basketball, US Sports
Jayden Collins