DALLAS – As soon as Danilo Gallinari’s difficult buzzer-beater attempt sounded off the brim, Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young yanked out his mouthpiece and stomped at referee Josh Tiven to protest a critical non-call over final possession of a 118-117 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Young was knocked to the ground when he put a screen on downtown Dallas Willie Cauley-Stein before the inbounds passed with 4.7 seconds remaining, preventing him from getting the ball the way the game was designed.
“I’m not going to run away from the ball with four seconds to go and we’re trying to win the game,” said Young, who had 25 points and 15 assists in the loss. “I’m not just going to fall to the end. That’s just the most frustrating part. Not really getting the chance to play at the end is just really frustrating.”
Tiven, the crew chief, told a pool reporter that Cauley-Stein’s contact was “considered incidental,” so he didn’t whistle. Tiven said the squad on duty came to the same conclusion after watching the video of the game after the game.
Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce strongly disagreed, arguing that a foul should have been called, which would have resulted in a free throw for Young and the Hawks who would get the ball out of bounds since the contact occurred before the ball entered.
“A real shame it ended like this,” Pierce said, adding that Tiven told him Young could have been sued on an illegal screen.
“It was a perfect screen,” 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 blows our game. It’s a shame. I thought our boys were really in. Trae was wrong. He was wrong. fell to the ground. floor. He gets hit in the nose. He put up a great screen. I give him credit; he put up a great screen. We tried to run, and he did. “
Dallas star Luka Doncic, who will always be linked with Young after being involved in a 2018 draft night trade, recorded his leading seventh triple-double with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as the Mavs made their biggest comeback made. win of the season, based on a deficit of 13 points.
Mavs reserves Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jalen Brunson combined for 24 points in the fourth quarter, while Dallas scored 10 better than Atlanta in that period. Brunson, who had 11 of his 21 points in the fourth, repeatedly targeted Young as a defender along the trajectory.
“Brunson was great,” said Mavs coach Rick Carlisle. “A great player like Young is a man you have to put defensive pressure on to try to exhaust him a little bit, and Jalen has been a great attack on him.”
Cauley-Stein also played a pivotal role in the win after not serving the previous two games due to coach decisions. He had 14 points and six rebounds off the bench, and Dallas defeated Atlanta by 19 in his 23 minutes.
Cauley-Stein, who defended John Collins when Young put a backscreen in the final game, was not surprised that the referees chose not to whistle.
“I don’t even see Trae,” Cauley-Stein. “He’s a smart kid. He tried to make a quick little mistake by shooting free throws and fighting the game. They wouldn’t give him that call up before the game. Good try though. That went smoothly. Secretly.”
As for Young, Cauley-Stein’s statement was proof that a foul should have been whistled.
Clearly he said he didn’t see me [and] “Run me over, that’s a good screen,” Young said. ‘I have put up a good screen. Like he said, he didn’t see me. He turned and ran straight into me. Like Dorian [Finney-Smith] had it not been there, I would have fallen back immediately, but he was there and used his hands a little bit, so I fell sideways a little. That’s what happened.
“He just turned around and didn’t see me, and I was there and he ran into me. While I was on the ground, the referee looked straight at me.