DALLAS – As soon as Danilo Gallinari’s difficult attempt to buzz climbed off the edge, Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young ripped out his mouthpiece and stepped on referee Josh Tiven for a critical non-appeal on the final possession of a loss of 118-117. to the Dallas Mavericks.
Young was hit on the floor while setting up a screen on Dallas center Willie Cauley-Stein, with 4.7 seconds left, preventing him from getting the ball as the game was designed.
“I’m not going to run away from the ball with four seconds left, and we’re trying to win the game,” said Young, who had 25 points and 15 strokes in the loss. “I’m not going to fall just to fall at the end. It’s just the most frustrating part. Not really an opportunity to make a play at the end is just really frustrating.”
Tiven, the crew chief, told a pool reporter that Cauley-Stein’s contact was considered “accessory” so he did not blow his whistle. Tiven said the serving crew came to the same conclusion after watching the video of the play after the play.
Falcons coach Lloyd Pierce strongly disagreed, arguing that there should have been a foul, which would have resulted in a free throw for Young and the Falcons to get the ball out of bounds since the contact took place. had before the ball was entered.
“Really sorry it ended that way,” Pierce said, adding that Tiven told him that Young might be asked for an illegal screen.
“It was a perfect screen,” Pierce said. “Willie Cauley-Stein hit Trae, and it’s a violation. It’s a violation. That’s why Trae was on the floor. It blew up our game. It’s a pity. I thought our guys really did. “Slow is wronged. He falls to the floor. He touches his nose. He sets a wonderful screen. I give him credit; he sets a wonderful screen. We tried to execute, and he did.”
Dallas star Luka Doncic, who will always be linked with Young after being involved in a draft game in 2018, scored his league-leading seventh triple-double with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as the Mavs scored their biggest comeback has. victory of the season, with a backlog of 13 points.
Mavs retains Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jalen Brunson together for 24 points in the fourth quarter, while Dallas outscored Atlanta by 10 in the period. Brunson, who had 11 of his 21 points in the fourth point, repeatedly targeted Young as a defender.
“Brunson was great,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “A great player like Young is a man you have to push defensively just to try to fend him off, and Jalen attacked him well.”
Cauley-Stein also played a critical role in the win after not putting off the previous two games due to the coach’s decisions. He had 14 points and six rebounds off the bench, and Dallas outscored Atlanta in its 23 minutes with 19 points.
Cauley-Stein, who defended John Collins when Young put up a backcourt on the final game, was not surprised that the referees chose not to whistle.
“I do not even see Trae,” Cauley-Stein. “He’s a smart kid. He tried to get a quick, slightly nasty shot to shoot the free throws and ice the game. No way they would give him that call for the game. Good effort. That was flexible, however. It was sly. “
As for Young, Cauley-Stein’s explanation was proof that there must have been an offense.
‘It’s clear he said he did not see me [and] it’s a good screen, “Young said. I set a good screen. Like he said, he did not see me. He turns around and runs right into me. As Dorian [Finney-Smith] was not there, I would have fallen straight back, but he was there and used his hands like a bit, and I went this way. That’s kind of what happened.
“He just turned around and didn’t see me, and I was there and he ran into me. While I was on the ground, the ref. Looked at me. He said nothing and did not call. ‘