NBA denies Mavericks’ protest vs. Warriors

The NBA denied the Mavericks‘ protest of their loss to the Warriors on March 22, the league announced (via Twitter).

The protest was in response to an alleged officiating error late in the third quarter that led to an uncontested basket for Golden State (video link from The Athletic). All five Dallas players were on the opposite side of the court as the Warriors inbounded the ball, resulting in an easy dunk for Kevon Looney.

The league notes that there were nearly 14 minutes remaining in the game when the incident occurred, and the Mavericks later took the lead twice in the last four minutes. Thus, the protest failed because the Mavs were unable to prove that they were “deprived of a fair opportunity to win the game,” according to the NBA.

After the game, Mavs owner Mark Cuban incorrectly claimed that the officials signaled it was Dallas’ ball prior to a timeout and then changed the call to award Golden State possession without informing the Mavs. However, in their formal written protest, the Mavs agreed that the refs initially awarded the ball to the Warriors.

The NBA says that while the “officials could have taken steps to better manage” the situation, it did not warrant the “extraordinary remedy” of upholding the protest.