The NBA said Friday that referees missed seven calls at the end of the Dallas Mavericks‘ 119-115 double-overtime win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. With the Mavericks a slight favorite, the calls led to a Lakers bad beat for those wagers and another outright loss for LeBron James and Co.
The Lakers ended as a 2.5-point home underdog (Caesars Sportsbook), and with the extension into overtime and then a second overtime lost by 4 and the Mavericks covered that spread.
Los Angeles trailed by 16 in the third quarter.
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Referencing the NBA Last Two Minute Report released Friday, ESPN said, “A non-call on LeBron James‘ potential game winner in the first overtime period was one of seven incorrect calls in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and the two overtimes …”
With the game tied 108-108 with 2.9 seconds left in the first overtime, James missed his shot after contact by Mavericks forward Christian Wood, but a foul was not called.
“Wood (DAL) initiates contact to James’ (LAL) left arm before blocking the shot, and the illegal contact affects his shot attempt,” the NBA report states. See the play here.
The NBA also said a foul also should have been called on Mavericks forward Luka Doncic on the rebound for hitting Lakers forward Weynen Gabriel, but was not.
“Doncic (DAL) initiates contact to Gabriel’s (LAL) arm, which affects his ability to control the rebound,” the report said.
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A blocked shot by Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. on Lakers guard Troy Brown Jr. at the end of the fourth quarter with the game tied 101-101 was ruled OK by the report.
“Hardaway Jr. (DAL) legally contests Brown Jr.’s (LAL) jump shot attempt and makes contact with the ball. Any ‘high-five’ contact is considered incidental,” it said. See the play here.
“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,” Ham said of that play to ESPN. “Maybe I can be wrong. But we were still watching it after the game, and it looked like a foul on his follow through.”
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban also was unhappy with the officials, tweeting, “Stan van Gundy [on TNT] is absolutely right. Worst officiated game. Luka gets no respect. Unreal.”
Los Angeles (19-23) lost its second straight game after a five-game winning streak. Dallas (24-19) ended a two-game losing skid.
