Mavs to Protest Two-Point Loss to Warriors Due to Bizarre Play

An apparent miscommunication with the referees resulted in the easiest bucket of Kevon Looney’s career.

The Mavericks will file an official protest with the NBA after a moment of confusion, potentially caused by the referees, resulted in a defensive meltdown on Wednesday night against the Warriors, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. 

After a timeout during the second half, Dallas players appeared to be defending the wrong half of the court, allowing Golden State to inbound under their own offensive basket and score an uncontested dunk. 

It turns out, however, that there was a reason behind the madness that occurred. 

Mark Cuban took to Twitter to attempt to clear the air. The Mavs owner indicated that heading into the timeout, officials had informed Dallas that it would be their ball. However, at some point during the break, the referees reversed that decision, without informing the Mavericks, according to Cuban.

Warriors get a free bucket after the Mavs defend the wrong basket 😅

(via @warriors)pic.twitter.com/Uwtsnbqw4d

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 23, 2023

As a result, the Mavericks were in disarray coming out of the timeout, having expected to be inbounding the ball themselves.

Amid the confusion, Jordan Poole passed the ball to Kevon Looney and casually pointed at the basket before the big threw it down for the quick and easy two points. All the while, Dallas’s defenders watched from the other end of the hardwood.

The Warriors ended up winning the game by two points, 127–125, though the Mavs plan to protest the result after the controversial moment.