One thing about Mark Cuban is that he fears no fine.
The Dallas Mavericks owner Cuban sounded on the refereeing in the middle of Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers. In a tweet that appeared to have been sent at some point during the fourth quarter, Cuban, who was seated on the Mavs bench, called the contest the “worst officiated game.” He added that Mavs star Luka Doncic “gets no respect” and agreed with TNT color commentator Stan Van Gundy’s analysis of the referees.
Stan van gundy is absolutely right. Worst officiated game. Luka gets no respect. Unreal.
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) January 13, 2023
Van Gundy had stated multiple times on the air that the officiating crew was having a rough night. While it is unclear exactly how Cuban heard what Van Gundy said on TV, the point was a valid one.
The Lakers, especially guard Russell Westbrook, were extremely physical with Doncic all night. However, Doncic, who averages 11.4 free throws per contest this season, shot just seven of them all game (despite playing 53 minutes in a double-overtime affair). Two of those attempts came on an obvious flagrant foul by Westbrook in the first OT.
Russell Westbrook trucked luka doncic then gets mad when luka steps to him lmaoo pic.twitter.com/jBF0BhRXt4
— John (@iam_johnw) January 13, 2023
In fairness though, the Lakers also had legitimate gripes of their own with the officiating. They were upset about a no-call on a Troy Brown Jr. three-point attempt at the end of regulation as well as another no-call during a LeBron James drive on the final possession of the first OT.
Tim Hardaway Jr. appears to foul Troy Brown Jr. on this 3-point attempt, but no call. Mavs-Lakers heads to OT.
Foul or no foul here? 🤔pic.twitter.com/27i9YpIKSK
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 13, 2023
LeBron James wanted a foul on this potential game-winning layup.
Thoughts? 🤔pic.twitter.com/yWRBuVPtOL
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 13, 2023
Ultimately though, it was the Mavericks who successfully played through the patchy refereeing and walked away with the 119-115 victory after the second OT. But Cuban has been fined by the NBA before over such public shows of displeasure with the refs, and that may be the result again this time around.
