The Dallas Mavericks will file a formal protest following a 127-125 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, sources told Shams Charania and Tim Cato of The Athletic.
The play in question was an alleged referee mistake that lead to a Warriors basket late in the third quarter (the play can be viewed here).
“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 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,” tweeted Mark Cuban after the game.
Cuban told The Athletic that the protest would focus on the “referees failure to correct an obvious moment of confusion.”
The Mavs must also pay a $10,000 protest fee that will be refunded should it be successful.
With the win, the Warriors now own the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Mavs.
