For the second time this season, an NBA game is subject to an official protest by one of its teams.
According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Dallas Mavericks have filed an official protest over the ending of Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks. The Mavericks claim that the rules were misapplied and Hawks center John Collins’ game-winning basket with 8.4 seconds left should not have stood.
The Dallas Mavericks, citing a "misapplication of the rules," have filed an official protest of Saturday's road loss to the Atlanta Hawks to the league office, @NYTSports has learned
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 23, 2020
Dallas will be making the case that the end of the game should be replayed, with Atlanta ahead by two points and a jump ball with 9.7 seconds remaining
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 23, 2020
The Mavericks, sources say, believe league rules should have prevented John Collins' decisive basket to stand. The officials on the floor allowed Collins' basket to count following a video review that overturned a goaltending call
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 23, 2020
Collins was originally called for goaltending when he tipped in a blocked layup to put the Hawks up by 4. Game officials said there was an inadvertent whistle on the play, and as Collins was in his shooting motion when the whistle blew, the play was ruled a continuation and the basket counted.
The first protest of the season, filed by the Houston Rockets, was dismissed largely because it happened with enough time left that commissioner Adam Silver determined the team had the chance to overcome the error. With this one happening inside the final ten seconds, that reason won’t fly here, so it will be interesting to see what the NBA makes of it.
