Luka Doncic is in his fifth NBA season after being picked with the third selection in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks and traded that same night to the Dallas Mavericks in the Trae Young deal.
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Joe Dumars, the NBA’s executive vice president and chief operations officer, issued a $35,000 punishment against Dallas Mavericks player Luka Doncic. At the end of the 127-125 defeat to the Golden State Warriors, the Slovenian made a gesture implying that one of the officials was bribed. As the referee paused play following Josh Green’s foul on Kevon Looney, No. 77 protested about an uncalled foul by Draymond Green on him with just under two seconds left.
Furious that the foul was not called, the Slovenian turned to one of the game officials and made a money-counting motion, implying that the referee was looting the Mavericks with bribery. In the same game, the Mavericks protested about another foul. With two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Joe Looney capitalized on a Dallas defensive miscue at the opposite end of the floor to score two unanswered points.
READ MORE: Is Luka Doncic going to get traded?
The Dallas Mavericks and their owner, Mark Cuban, are upset with the NBA after an apparent mistake by referees resulted in an easy two points for the Golden State Warriors in a two-point Warriors win on Wednesday.
The incident occurred in the third quarter. At first sight, it appears to be a disastrous error by the Mavericks, who were protecting the wrong side of the court. As the Mavericks’ Josh Green came on the scene, Warriors guard Jordan Poole immediately inbounded the ball to Kevon Looney, who slapped down a half-hearted dunk. The Warriors led 98-96 early in the fourth quarter after the shot.
Confusion ensued, culminating in a heated tweet from Mavericks owner Mark Cuban following the game, outlining what had occurred from Dallas’ perspective and claiming that the referees modified the first call on the floor during the break without informing his team.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania claimed shortly after the game that Dallas intends to file a formal protest with the NBA, focusing on the third-quarter incident. As perplexing as the opening sequence was, it looks that the Mavericks may not have much of a case to make. Golden State won by two points, completing their second straight road win against a fellow Western Conference playoff contender.
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