DALLAS – As soon as Danilo Gallinari’s difficult bell attempt hit the edge, Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young plucked out his spokesman and walked towards referee Josh Tiven to protest a critical non-call over the final possession of a 118-117 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Young had been knocked to the ground while placing a canvas in the center of Dallas Willie Cauley-Stein before the pass on the field with 4.7 seconds remaining, preventing him from receiving the ball when the play was planned.
“I will not run from the ball with four seconds left and we are trying to win the game,” said Young, who had 25 points and 15 assists in defeat. “I am not going to fall just to fall in the end. This is the most frustrating part. Not having the opportunity to make a move in the end is really frustrating.”
Tiven, the team leader, told a pool reporter that Cauley-Stein’s contact was “considered accidental”, so he didn’t blow the whistle. Tiven said the refereeing team came to the same conclusion after reviewing the video of the post-game play.
Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce vehemently disagreed, arguing that a foul should have been called, which would have resulted in a free throw for Young and the Hawks taking the field ball, as the contact occurred before the ball entered.
“It’s a shame that it ended this way,” said Pierce, adding that Tiven told him that Young could have been called to an illegal screen.
“It was a perfect canvas,” said Pierce. “Willie Cauley-Stein ran over Trae and that’s a foul. It’s a foul. That’s why Trae was on the ground. It ruins our game. It’s unfortunate. I thought our guys really competed. Trae suffered a foul. He fell on Him got hit in the nose. He set up a great screen. I give him credit; he set up a great screen. We tried to run, and he did it. “
Dallas star Luka Doncic, who will always be linked to Young after getting involved in a 2018 draft night deal, registered his seventh triple-double leader in the league with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists while the Mavs performed his biggest win recovery of the season, recovering from a deficit of 13 points.
Mavs reserve Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jalen Brunson combined for 24 points in the fourth period, while Dallas beat Atlanta by 10 in the period. Brunson, who had 11 of his 21 points in the fourth, repeatedly chose Young as a defender in the final stretch.
“Brunson was fantastic,” said Mavs coach Rick Carlisle. “A great player like Young is a guy that you have to put defensive pressure on just to try to tire him out a little bit, and Jalen did a great job attacking him.”
Cauley-Stein also played a key role in the victory, after not being left out in the previous two games because of the coach’s decisions. He had 14 points and six rebounds off the bench, and Dallas overcame Atlanta by 19 in his 23 minutes.
Cauley-Stein, who was defending John Collins when Young set the stage for the final play, was not surprised that the referees chose not to whistle.
“I didn’t even see Trae,” Cauley-Stein. “He’s a smart kid. He was trying to make a quick, small foul to shoot free throws and freeze the game. No way were they going to call him into the game. Nice try, though. It was good. It was sneaky.”
As far as Young is concerned, Cauley-Stein’s explanation was evidence that a foul should have been called.
“Obviously, with him saying he didn’t see me [and] running over me, it’s a good canvas, “said Young.” I set up a good screen. Like he said, he didn’t see me. He turned and ran straight for me. If Dorian [Finney-Smith] hadn’t been there, I would have fallen backwards, but he was there and kind of using his hands a little bit, so I kind of fell on my side. That was what happened.
“He just turned around and didn’t see me, and I was there and he bumped me. As I was on the ground, the referee was looking directly at me. He said nothing and didn’t call anything.”