The Mavericks double overtime win over the Lakers Thursday night came with some heavy scrutiny, as fans and observers called into question the officiating of the game. That included Dallas’s most prominent fan, Mark Cuban.
The Dallas owner took to Twitter to complain about the officiating, arguing that Luka Dončić “gets no respect” from the referees. As a team, Dallas shot 17 free throws during the game, while Los Angeles received 27 attempts from the line.
While Cuban openly complained about the refs, it was the Lakers that lost and felt the officiating cost them a chance at a key win.
With the two teams tied as regulation expired, Los Angeles thought the referees missed a Tim Hardaway Jr. foul on Troy Brown, which would have given the Lakers a chance to win the game before overtime.
While Brown tried to downplay it, LeBron James told reporters that it was clear that his teammate was fouled.
“No, it’s a f------ foul,” James said, via ESPN’s Dave McMenaman. “It’s a foul. No matter what [Brown] says, it’s a f------ foul. That s--- is blatant, and they should have called it.”
Head coach Darvin Ham, who also wanted to stay as reserved as possible, agreed that there should have been a foul called there
“I’m not one to blame the officiating, and I won’t start now. But it just looked clear as day like it was a foul,” he said. “Maybe I can be wrong. But we were still watching it after the game, and it looked like a foul on his follow-through.”
