It looked like the Celtics had successfully responded to Spencer Dinwiddie's clutch 3-point on Sunday when Marcus Smart got off a late 3-pointer and drew a foul from Luka Doncic. Then Dallas challenged the call, and things took too long for it to be a good sign for the Celtics.
Even though the national game announcers thought up until the end the foul should've stood, the refs reversed the call. Not only that, but they provided no explanation — to the fans or the Celtics.
"They didn't say anything other than 'it was not a foul,'" Ime Udoka said. "That's all they left it at."
The NBA released its Last Two Minute Report for Sunday's games on Monday and did address the call. The league labeled it a "Correct Non-Call," further adding:
"Replay review of the shooting foul called on Doncic pursuant to a coach's challenge was deemed successful. Doncic makes incidental, 'high-five' contact with the hand of Smart after the release of his jump shot attempt."
Finally, Luka hinders the final shot from Smart and gets the clutch defensive stop, securing a hard-fought victory for the Mavs (this play is legal too) pic.twitter.com/hNiXHWpiSg
— Burners Hookah⚡️ (@DoncicForThree) March 14, 2022
Again, this play didn't lose the Celtics the game — their effort in the third quarter did. However, if Doncic were on the other side of this call, he absolutely would've gotten three attempts at the free-throw line.
