Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has labelled the decision that led to an uncontested Golden State Warriors dunk as the 'worst officiating non call mistake possibly in the history of the NBA’ in a blistering rebuke of the league’s referees.
The billionaire was incensed by the confusion over which side had possession of the ball deep into the third quarter of the Mavericks’ 127-125 defeat on Wednesday night and told ESPN he intends to file an official protest to the NBA.
Returning from a timeout, Warriors centre Kevon Looney happily accepted a free dunk on an inbounds play with a little over two minutes left in the third quarter as the Mavericks, believing they had possession, stood on their offensive end of the court.
Cuban wasn't shy in sharing his view of the incident in a scathing Tweet and claimed the officials had initially said it was Mavericks ball before a timeout was called.
“For those wondering about the play with 1:54 to go on the 3rd, let me explain what happened.” He wrote. “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 us. 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 2 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’s ire likely stems from the fact that Looney’s freebie proved decisive in Wednesday night’s result which ended in a two-point Warriors win. Not to mention the reality of seeing his side fall to ninth in a congested Western Conference at the hands of a rival who sit just one-and-half games ahead in sixth as the race for the Play-Offs hots up.
Mavericks star Luka Doncic echoed the feelings of confusion that surrounded the incident saying: "I was surprised. I was like, 'What is that?' I've never seen that happen in my life."
According to the NBA constitution, the Mavericks must file his protest in writing within 48 hours, at which point NBA commissioner Adam Silver will inform the Warriors. Each team will have five days to file evidence to support its case.
Silver will determine the outcome within five days of receipt of the evidence. Should Cuban follow through with his protest, he must accompany it with a $10,000 (£81,000) fee, which will be refunded if the protest prevails.
Unfortunately for the Mavericks, protests are rarely upheld with the last successful attempt coming in January 2008. The franchise were also the last team to lodge a complaint for their game against the Atlanta Hawks in 2020, though that proved unsuccessful.
