Mark Cuban to file protest of Mavericks' loss to Warriors

The Dallas Mavericks will file a protest of their 127-125 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, team governor Mark Cuban told ESPN.

The protest is due to an uncontested dunk by Warriors center Kevon Looney after a timeout with 1:54 remaining in the third quarter. The Mavericks believed they had possession of the ball, which Cuban attributed to an officiating error.

Cuban tweeted his account of the incident Wednesday night, saying the refs had initially said it was Mavs ball and that Dallas then called timeout.

«During the time out the official changed the call and never told us,» Cuban said in his tweet. «Then when they saw us line up as if it were our ball, he just gave the ball to the warriors. Never said a word to us They got an easy basketball. Crazy that it would matter in a 2 point game.»

Cuban went on to call it the «worst officiating non call mistake possibly in the history of the NBA.»

«All they had to do was tell us and they didn't,» he wrote in his tweet.

According to the NBA constitution, Cuban must file his protest in writing within the next 48 hours. After commissioner Adam Silver receives the protest, the Warriors will be notified and each team will have five days to file evidence to support their cases.

Silver will make a ruling on the decision within five days after receiving the evidence. Cuban's protest must also be accompanied by a protest fee of $10,000, which will be refunded if the protest prevails or forfeited if it doesn't.

Wednesday's loss dropped Dallas to 36-37, ninth in the Western Conference standings. The Mavs would have moved ahead of the Warriors, who are now 38-36, into sixth place with a win.