Doncic has 3-pointer overturned as Mavs stumble

DALLAS -- Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic swished a step-back 3-pointer from the near helping to bushed the halftime buzzer, did a small shimmy creation connected the sideline and briskly jogged into the locker country with his squad holding a seven-point pb implicit the Denver Nuggets.

Doncic and the Mavericks recovered retired minutes aboriginal that, upon replay review, the referees had ruled that helium stepped retired of bounds and took the points disconnected the scoreboard. They besides learned that the last 2 seconds of the 2nd 4th would beryllium replayed aft halftime earlier opening the 3rd quarter.

Vlatko Cancar, a Nuggets reserve guardant and Doncic's Slovenian nationalist squad teammate, made those 2 seconds count, hitting thing but nett from down the half-court line. That Slovenian six-point plaything ended up making a large quality successful the Nuggets' 98-97 win Sunday night, arsenic the Mavs managed to suffer astatine location to a drastically depleted Denver squad missing two-time MVP Nikola Jokic and cardinal starters Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon due to the fact that of illnesses.

"It's a large momentum [shift], but you can't accidental that decided the game," said Doncic, who finished with 22 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists but didn't people successful the 4th quarter, missing a 35-footer successful the last seconds.

Doncic was successful disbelief that his 3 astatine the extremity of the archetypal fractional was wiped disconnected the board, unaware that stepping retired of bounds was reviewable successful that situation.

As referee Sean Wright explained successful a postgame excavation report, a tract extremity made with nary clip remaining connected the timepiece astatine the extremity of immoderate play is automatically reviewed, citing Rule 13 Section I-a(1).

"Within that trigger we person a reviewable matter, which is Section II-a(2) -- whether the shooter committed a bound enactment usurpation oregon the shot touched retired of bounds anterior to entering the basket," Wright said. "The video showed his bottommost connected the enactment erstwhile helium changeable it."

Doncic disputed whether his bottommost really touched the sidelined. He studied the video connected his telephone portion sitting successful beforehand of his locker earlier showering and didn't judge determination was conclusive grounds that helium stepped retired of bounds.

"I didn't deliberation I was retired of bounds, truthful I don't know," Doncic said. "I saw immoderate videos and it doesn't look similar I adjacent touched the line, and my bottommost was up, truthful I don't know."

The referees opted to replay the last 2 seconds of the 2nd 4th aft halftime due to the fact that the teams had already near the level and the "Simon Says" halftime enactment was making its mode connected the court.

"Rather than trying to propulsion everybody back, we started with the 2 seconds erstwhile we travel backmost retired and past instantly play aft that," Wright said.

Cancar didn't recognize that the last 2 seconds would beryllium replayed until the Nuggets huddled successful beforehand of their seat aft halftime. Coach Michael Malone substituted Cancar into the crippled for those 2 seconds.

"He said, 'Vlatko, I'm putting you in. I privation you to sprout a half-court shot,'" Vlatko told ESPN. "As soon arsenic helium said that, my eyes went green. I was conscionable waiting to sprout it."

Cancar caught the inbounds walk and unleashed the changeable from the close broadside of the level a mates of feet down the half-court line. It was officially recorded arsenic a 53-footer, cutting Dallas' pb to 1 point.

"[Spencer] Dinwiddie and Luka were benignant of trying to guard, but I conjecture they conscionable didn't deliberation I was going to sprout it," said Cancar, who scored 7 points connected 3-of-3 shooting successful 11 minutes. "Because cipher truly shoots that successful the NBA. They ever privation to sprout aft the buzzer due to the fact that they don't privation to ruin their percentages, but I don't attraction astir that."

As Cancar celebrated, triumphantly raising some fists earlier leaping into Denver halfway DeAndre Jordan's arms, Doncic had a fewer prime words for the officials portion walking to the Mavericks' bench.

Cancar often practices half-court shots, which is wherefore Malone chose him to instrumentality the attempt. Cancar admitted helium has mislaid "a batch of money" wagering against Doncic successful half-court shooting competitions aft the Slovenian nationalist team's practices.