Getty Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks and Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors need to be at the top of their game as the regular season nears its end. They can’t afford to drop too many more games, as they are in the thick of a very tightly-contested playoff race in the Western Conference.
On Wednesday night, they took care of business against the Dallas Mavericks, but there was plenty of controversy. In the third quarter, confusion led to each team lining up under their own baskets and the Warriors getting an open layup. Both teams thought it was their ball. After the game, Luka Doncic spoke about what it was like from his perspective to see Golden State get a free bucket.
“I was surprised,” Doncic said via the Fanatics View YouTube channel. “Honestly, at that moment, I didn’t know what was going on. I was like, ‘What is that?’ But I’ve never seen that happen in my life.”
Doncic played extremely well in the Mavericks’ loss to the Warriors. He finished the game with 30 points, seven rebounds, and 17 assists on 11-of-27 shooting from the field and 2-of-10 shooting from behind the three-point line.
The Slovenian superstar also gave a more thorough explanation as to what he thought should have happened when there was confusion about whose ball it was.
“It was kind of weird,: Doncic said. “I think the refs, the first time, called it correctly, but when we came out of the timeout, there was another ref right on the sideline thinking it was probably Dallas ball. So, I think in those situations, you just got to- like, you know when they group up to see who shoots the free throws? Or, if there’s anything, they group up. They could have waited because the referee was all the way on our side. So, I think in that situation, you just have to group up and clear it up.”
Mavericks Will Protest Loss to Warriors
Considering the Mavericks only ended up losing by two points, that play was a huge swing. After the contest, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Mavericks would be protesting the result of the game.
“The Dallas Mavericks plan to file to the NBA a formal protest of their 127-125 loss to the Golden State Warriors tonight, with focus on alleged referee mistake that led to two free Warriors points late in the third quarter, source tells @TheAthletic @Stadium,” Charania tweeted.
Stephen Curry Sounds Off on Luka Doncic
In other news, Stephen Curry spoke about how difficult it is to guard Doncic, as he is one of the best players in the league.
“I mean, for the most part, we put him on the free throw line too much in the first half. But Luka is interesting,” Curry said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “He’s going to get his numbers because he’s good, first and foremost, but they have a team formed around him that gives him a lot of space, and he’s great at picking and choosing his spots. Whether he’s looking for a shot or putting pressure on you in the paint to kick out to shooters. They made 17 threes off of a lot of his gravity, so you got to live with some of that stuff, and you got to live with him having big numbers because, again, he’s that great, and he has a lot of opportunity.”