Dallas Mavericks blew an 11-point lead in the final quarter to hand a 115-112 victory to the Chicago Bulls in the American Airlines Center. The game saw many of the Mavs’ first starters being benched while their play-in hopes were still alive. It resulted in the NBA launching an investigation regarding the decision-making on and off the pitch by the Mavericks management.
With this controversial loss against the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks are now officially eliminated from taking part in the postseason. But it keeps them in the reckoning for a top-10 NBA draft pick come this summer which could be the French sensation Victor Wembanyama if they end up winning the lottery.
NBA spokesman Mike Bass said the following about the matter, “The NBA commenced an investigation today into the facts and circumstances surrounding the Dallas Mavericks’ roster decisions and game conduct with respect to last night’s Chicago Bulls-Mavericks game, including the motivations behind those actions.”
Meanwhile, during the post-game, the Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd shared his views about their team selection and actions during the game. “This is maybe a step back, but hopefully it leads to going forward.”
He also added, “These are decisions that are made from my bosses and we’ve got to follow them and we trust that Cuban and Nico are going to put the pieces together to put us in a position to win a championship. And that’s just starting the process today.”
The reason behind not playing Kyrie Irving against the Chicago Bulls was a right foot injury. For Maxi Kleber, it was a right hamstring injury, while for Tim Hardaway Junior, it was soreness in the left ankle. Also, Christian Wood and Josh Green were given a rest by the Mavs management.
Luka Doncic played briefly in the contest as the Dallas Mavericks paid tribute to his native country by handing out Slovenia-themed scarves as souvenirs for the first 3.5k fans who filled the American Airlines Arena on Friday night.