The Dallas Mavericks suffered their second consecutive loss against the Phoenix Suns 114-113 on Friday night at the American Airlines Center.
Luka Doncic missed a potential game-winning shot in the match’s final seconds, but Dallas Mavericks fans felt robbed when Daniel Gafford was called for a costly foul before Doncic’s last-ditch attempt.
Jusuf Nurkic was given two free throws after he was fouled by Daniel Gafford during a putback attempt. The Phoenix Suns center missed the first free throw but made the second with 0.8 seconds left, enough to secure the win.
Five Dallas Mavericks players scored in double digits, with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combining for 59 points. As for the Phoenix Suns, Kevin Durant led the way with 26 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two blocks on 8-for-14 shooting from the field.
The Dallas Mavericks have slumped to a 5-4 record, while the Phoenix Suns improved to 8-1 to take the top seed in the Western Conference.
Dallas Mavericks fans voice their displeasure with the refs for the “soft” foul
Many Dallas Mavericks fans were angry at the baseline referee for calling for the foul on Daniel Gafford, saying the referees should’ve let them play and not decide the game.
“Shove Gafford in the back but call it on Gafford to ruin the end of a great game. Can’t believe they call anything in that situation,” Matt McClearin wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
“It’s the Tony Brothers Special,” chimed in a fan.
“Tony Brothers hates luka and the mavs man,” said an X commenter.
“another master class by Tony Brothers 👏🏽,” added another commenter.
Just in case you missed it, here’s the video of the ending of the thrilling game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns. You be the judge if the foul call was warranted or not (from the 8:30 mark):
