A crucial missed call in the final seconds of Wednesday night’s Mavericks-Pelicans game should have given Dallas the lead, the NBA admitted Thursday in its review of the game’s closing moments.
The play that had Mavs fans fuming? A potential game-winning layup by Spencer Dinwiddie that was blocked by Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III – after the ball had already hit the backboard.
That’s goaltending, plain and simple.
"It cost us maybe the game," a frustrated Jason Kidd said after his Mavericks fell 119-116 to New Orleans.
Here’s how it went down: With just 15 seconds left and Dallas trailing by one, P.J. Washington came up with a huge steal at midcourt. The Mavs rushed downcourt, and Dinwiddie drove for what looked like the go-ahead bucket.
Dinwiddie later explained he deliberately banked it off the glass to prevent a block. But Murphy swatted it anyway – illegally, as the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report would later confirm.
The Mavs couldn’t even challenge the call. They were out of timeouts.
Making things worse? Murphy sealed the game by hitting two free throws with just a second left on the clock.
Mavs GM Nico Harrison took the high road Thursday morning on local radio station 96.7 The Ticket: "Refs make mistakes. It’s frustrating… but you have to move on to the next game."
The loss stings even more considering Dallas was playing without its superstar duo of Luka Doncic (calf injury) and Kyrie Irving (back). Center Dereck Lively was also sidelined with an ankle problem.
Daniel Gafford did his best to pick up the slack, putting up a career-best 27 points on nearly perfect shooting (12-of-13) while grabbing 12 rebounds. Jaden Hardy added 21 points and Dinwiddie chipped in 20.
The Mavericks (22-19) are now sliding at the wrong time. They’ve dropped three straight and eight of their last ten games.
And things aren’t getting easier – they host the NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder (33-6) on Friday night.
