ATLANTA – Short on manpower, the Mavericks tried to cheat fate on Saturday night and for the longest time, it looked like they were up to the job.
And then, they left feeling like they got jobbed.
A late blocked shot/goaltend/inadvertent whistle that was eerily similar – but called differently – than a play the Mavericks had earlier this season against Portland ended any hope they had of stealing a victory against the Atlanta Hawks.
Trae Young and John Collins were at the center of the controversial play that ended up being ruled a made basket after a lengthy video review. That accounted for the final points in the Hawks’ 111-107 victory.
When it was over, the final officiating confusion led owner Mark Cuban to unload about the new state of NBA referees.
“It was ridiculous,” Cuban said. “It’s gotten worse. I’ve gone a year and a half without commenting on the officials, or more. And it’s just gotten progressively worse.
“And I’m not saying it’s all against the Mavericks. This is a training issue. This is a management issue. Is it as bad as back in Dairy Queen (when he worked there to prove a point after saying the person in charge of NBA refs couldn’t manage a Dairy Queen)?
“It literally could be worse because at least they had Darell Garretson’s refs and when you look at their longevity and guys that made it to the finals, whatever Darell Garretson was doing in training was the right way to do it.”
The play that caused everybody on the Mavericks’ bench to blow a gasket came with 8.4 seconds left. The Mavericks – playing shorthanded without Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis, Willie Cauley-Stein and, after the first 10 seconds, Jalen Brunson – had played inspired basketball all night and led most of the way.
But with Young scoring 13 points in the fourth quarter, the Hawks rallied from 13 points down earlier in the period. His drive had put the Hawks up 109-107 and when Tim Hardaway Jr., who had 33 points, missed a jumper, the Hawks ran the clock down and Young drove to the rim.
His shot was blocked by Dorian Finney-Smith and the whistle blew. What happened next was a lengthy, confusing review that the Mavericks felt they never got a proper explanation about.
After the block, which was ruled a legal block upon review, Collins gathered the rebound and scored on the putback to make it 111-107. But the Mavericks on the court were under the impression that play had been stopped by the whistle.
“I’m not quite sure what happened on the call,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “Goaltending was called, the whistle blew, the players stopped. And then the basket was good after the whistle had blown, which is hard to fathom.”
Asked if he got an explanation of the ruling, he said: “Not a sufficient one. Just a very disappointing way to end a game for our guys who fought their butts off from start to finish.
“It was a good block. My understanding is if it’s a good block on a goaltend that’s called and reversed and there’s no control or the other team gets it, it’s a jump ball. It’s baffling, disappointing. Other than that, our guys fought their asses off all night long.”
Finney-Smith said he thought it was the same play that was called a jump ball in the Portland game earlier this season when he blocked a Damian Lillard drive.
“When the Dame situation happened, they made us do a jump ball,” Finney-Smith said. “So today, it went the opposite way. I don’t know.”
The game might have been lost before that when the Mavericks couldn’t keep their foot on the Hawks’ throat. They had led by 13 early in the fourth quarter. But they certainly would have liked a chance in the final 8.4 seconds to pull out the win.
Instead, they limp home 1-1 on this trip and 34-23 for the season.
And the perplexing finish will eat at them. A pool reporter was sent to talk to the referee chief, Rodney Mott, who said: “The original call on the floor was a goaltend. The ball was blocked and reviewed. The ball hit the rim, so it was deemed an inadvertent whistle because it was ruled a good block. By rule, it’s an inadvertent whistle. It’s Rule Two. Because he (Collins) was in his shooting motion when my whistle blew, it’s deemed a continuation, so therefore, the basket counts.”
That wasn’t a satisfactory explanation for Cuban, who huddled with several reporters after the game to vent his frustration.
Among his harshest concerns:
A lack of consistency with the last call: “Everybody who said they were watching it said that it (the whistle) came before the putback. But that’s neither here nor there because if it’s an inadvertent whistle . . . then you stop play. But they reviewed it for a goaltend. So either you can’t review it because it’s an inadvertent whistle or you review it for the goaltend and if it’s (not) a goaltend, the play stops right there. Unless there’s something I don’t know. And that’s always possible. But I’ve never seen anything like that.
On hiring better refs: “You can’t expect new refs to be any good and that’s because we do such a horrific job of training in the G-League. Not a poor job. Not a marginal job. We apply little or no resources. The Joey Crawfords and the Bennett Salvatores, I’m so glad I can call those guys out, because they’re awful at their jobs.”
Cuban has advocated better schooling and training for refs in the G-League before, but says his requests have not been acted upon.
“We’ve had such poor training, when older refs retire, the ones that come and take their place are not ready. So by the time they get here, if they’re not good enough already, you’re not going to make them better. I’ve said that to the league a dozen times. They said they’re going to work on it, we’re improving it. Instead of having people who know how to train and develop refs that are professional trainers that learn from refs on mechanics, we get Joey Crawford who gets dressed up and Bennett Salvatore who likes to dress up.
“Let’s see if they go to the Maine Red Claws and spend all the time there where they should be. If these guys are such good-training refs, send them to the G-league and spend time with refs before they get here, not after they get here. Because after they get here, we’re paying the price because they’re getting on-the-job training that wins and loses games.”
Twitter: @ESefko
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