Mavericks drop protest over Pelicans’ baffling loss

The Dallas Mavericks have a formal turned off filing an official NBA protest after their a controversial 119-116 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night. Stein Line’s Mark Stein reported on the team’s decision after evaluating a critically missed goaltending call that could have changed the outcome of the game.

With six seconds left, Spencer Dinwiddie he attempted a layup that was blocked by the Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III. Replays showed the ball had already touched the backboard before Murphy’s block, which should have been ruled a keeper. However, the officials did not make the call, leaving the Mavericks with no chance to tie or win the game in the final moments.

Head coach Jason Kidd addressed the officiating issue during his postgame remarks.

“The league wants to get it right,” Kidd said. “Judges have a difficult job. They obviously didn’t get it right and it may have cost us the game.”

Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison also opined, addressing the decision not to lead an official protest.

“You can appeal, but if you do, you have to spend some money,” Harrison said, according to Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News. “You might feel good, but it won’t change the outcome.” Referees make mistakes. It’s frustrating. … It is what it is. You have to move on to the next game.”

The Mavericks are opting out of protesting their baffling loss to the Pelicans

The loss extended Dallas’ losing streak to three games, dropped their record to 22-19 and dropped them to seventh in the Western Conference standings. Despite the frustrations surrounding the game, the Mavericks decided not to pursue the rarely successful protest process.

Protests in the NBA are rare, and successful protests are even rarer. The last time an NBA protest was accepted was on December 19, 2007, when the Miami Heat challenged an officiating error during a game against the Atlanta Hawks. In that case, Shaquille O’Neal was wrongly fouled, and the protest led to the last 51.9 seconds of overtime being replayed on March 8, 2008. By then, O’Neal was no longer a member of the Heat, having been traded to the Phoenix Suns.

The The Mavericks now shift their focus to the next gamehome game against the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. The teams have split their two meetings this season, with Oklahoma City winning the December game 118-104.

While the decision not to protest is a practical step forward, the missed call reignited conversations about the consistency of officiating in high-stakes moments. For the Mavericks, the priority remains to regain momentum as they work to stabilize their position in the standings.