NBA rumors: Shams Charania confirms that Mavericks protest will be filed with eye on referee mistake that gifted Warriors 2 points

Shams Charania confirmed an NBA rumor regarding the Dallas Mavericks. With the Mavs opting to protest against a referee mistake late in the game against the Warriors, we take a look at the details of the same.

Dallas' game against the Golden State Warriors at home came to a surprising end. After a hard-fought four quarters of action, the Warriors came out on top 127-125 in a somewhat controversial result.

The game ended in a rather dramatic manner as the Mavs saw Reggie Bullock hit a 3-pointer right before the buzzer for the final result. However, the controversial event happened earlier in the game.

Coming off a timeout late in the third quarter, Dallas was on the wrong side of the court as the referees apparently failed to inform them of who had possession of the ball. With the Mavs' defensive half populated only by Warriors players, the Dubs walked away with an easy two points.

Given that the end result was a difference of two points, the Mavericks have every reason to be upset. The Athletic's Shams Charania confirmed that Dallas will be filing an official protest with league offices regarding the referee's mistake.

However, Dallas may not enjoy a lot of success by filing the protest. Considering that Kevon Looney came down with the offensive rebound before Dallas called a timeout, the Mavs were never going to be awarded possession. Simply put, poor presence of mind from the Mavs led to an easy bucket for the Dubs.

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Luka Doncic's return marred by Mavericks loss

Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic made his long-awaited return from injury on Wednesday night, albeit in a close loss.

Doncic was out of action since early March. After sustaining a thigh strain against the New Orleans Pelicans, the Slovenian was sidelined indefinitely, missing five games.

Considering that Dallas was also without Kyrie Irving for a few games in this span, they were truly shorthanded. With a 2-3 record without Doncic, Dallas needed their superstars back. Unfortunately, Doncic wasn't able to secure a win for his team on his return.

Execution by the Slovenian late in the game was questionable, as he missed a layup in the clutch. Although the superstar dropped a tremendous 30 points with 17 assists and seven rebounds, the Mavs came up short.

It's important to note that Dallas was also without Irving in this game. Irving, who was seen wearing a walking boot as a precautionary measure after the Memphis game, was questionable against Golden State. Irving's absence may raise more concerns for Dallas.