Replay a factor as Trail Blazers tip Mavericks
Damian Lillard’s twisting layup with 26 seconds remaining proved to be the winner as the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Mavericks 121119 in Dallas on Sunday.
Lillard’s basket gave the Blazers a 120119 lead. Dallas’ Luka Doncic then missed a 3point attempt and Portland won a challenge of a call that would have sent the Mavericks’ Dorian FinneySmith to the foul line.
The foul was called on Lillard.
Instead, there was a jump ball.
Crew chief Courtney Kirkland explained how a oneyear experimental rule applied to this review.
“Once Portland challenged the play and we were able to go and look at replay, we were able to have clear, conclusive evidence that Damian Lillard legally deflected the ball from Dorian FinneySmith. The ball was loose when the whistle blew, which led to an inadvertent whistle. Therefore, we ended up having a jump ball.”
Lillard had insisted to head coach Terry Stotts that he should challenge the call, even though losing it would have cost the Blazers their last timeout.
Dallas still seemed likely to win the jump with 7foot3 center Kristaps Porzingis. Portland center Hassan Whiteside had fouled out and 7footer Zach Collins left the game with an injury.
“I was thinking we don’t even have a ‘5’ man in the game, so how are we going to win a jump ball?” Portland guard CJ McCollum said. “Then Porzingis tipped it to us, so it worked out.”
The Blazers’ Kent Bazemore got the ball and was fouled. He made the first of two freethrow tries. Doncic rebounded and passed to Tim Hardaway Jr., whose shot from about midcourt rattled off the front of the rim as time expired.
“I’m a fan of the nba challenge rule, but if a play is overturned and they don’t show the replay that justifies overturning a call along with an explanation then it’s going to have real problems,” Mavericks owner Mark Cuban tweeted. “From the angles we saw in arena it looked like a clean strip but body contact first.”
Lillard scored 26 of his 28 points in the second half.
McCollum led the Blazers with 35 points.
Porzingis scored 32 points and Doncic finished 29 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Lakers 120, Hornets 101: Anthony Davis had 29 points and 14 rebounds, and Dwight Howard added 16 points, 10 boards and four blocked shots for host Los Angeles.
LeBron James had 20 points, 12 assists and six rebounds for the Lakers, who took control of their second straight victory with an 182 rally starting late in the third quarter.
Miles Bridges scored 23 points and Cody Zeller and Terry Rozier added 19 apiece for Charlotte. Grizzlies 134, Nets 133: Jae Crowder hit a 3pointer from the top of the key as time expired in overtime to lift host Memphis. Ja Morant, who scored 30 points, dribbled behind his back as he crossed half court, then handed out his ninth assist, shuffling a pass to the trailing Crowder for the 28foot winner.
Kyrie Irving scored 37 points and Caris LeVert added 27 for Brooklyn. Timberwolves 116, Heat 99: Andrew Wiggins scored 25 points and KarlAnthony Towns added 23 points and 11 rebounds for host Minnesota.
Kendrick Nunn scored 25 points to lead Miami. Briefly: Rockets guard Gerald Green will have surgery on his broken left foot Monday, the Houston Chronicle reported. He was hurt during a preseason game in Tokyo this month. ... Cleveland center John Henson incurred a hamstring strain Saturday and will be out at least two weeks, the team said.