Mavericks plan to file formal protest of their 127-125 loss to the Warriors

Mar 23, 2023 - 2:53 AM

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Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Dallas Mavericks are set to file a formal protest of their loss to the Golden State Warriors.

According to a tweet by Mavs’ owner Mark Cuban, the officials changed a call during a timeout that was initially supposed to be Mavs ball due to a ball that went out-of-bounds that was touched by Kevon Looney.

The call was initially in favor of the Warriors, but was changed by the official to go the other way prior to the timeout. Per Cuban, that call was changed in the middle of the timeout without the Mavs’ knowledge, which led to the Mavs going back to play offense.

But since the call was apparently changed, the officials gave the ball to the Warriors with no Mavs player back on defense, which lead to a Looney bucket.

Here’s the call prior to the timeout:

And here’s what happened after the timeout:

Here’s the section from the official NBA rule book on protests:

Historically, only 13.6% of filed protests in NBA history have been upheld, which means that the portion in question is to be replayed. The odds are not in the Mavericks’ favor.

UPDATE: Here’s the pool report concerning the sequence in question:

According to the report above, the official pointing toward the Mavs’ direction after the call in favor of the Warriors wasn’t a changed call, but a gesture signaling for a mandatory timeout charged to the Mavs.