Game officials admit two blown calls late in Pelicans’ 111-106 loss to Mavs

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Adding insult to injury, game officials from Thursday’s (Feb. 2) Pelicans loss to the Dallas Mavericks on the road have admitted to blowing two missed calls in the final seconds.

Bad luck for the Pels on Thursday started as early as the morning as their travel to Dallas was delayed due to inclement weather across the midwest, resulting in a lack of routine prep time before tip-off. Once the game started, things went from bad to worse as a majority of Luka Doncic’s 31 points came in the first half.

Doncic exited the game midway through the third quarter and the Pelicans took the opportunity to build a comeback run, shrinking a 31-point deficit and outscoring the Mavs 33-25 in the third quarter.

The Pelicans cut the Mavs’ lead down to 109-106 with 4.9 seconds left, needing a steal and a 3-pointer for a chance to go into overtime. Guarding the inbounds pass, Brandon Ingram intercepted it and tapped the ball to an open C.J. McCollum who was in the position to take the 3-point shot.

However, the play was blown dead by a whistle. Referees called Ingram for being out of bounds and they had allowed the clock to wind down to 3.4 seconds. Time was not added to the clock and Spencer Dinwiddie went on to make two free throws after a foul with 2.4 seconds to close out the Mavs’ win.

None of the calls were reviewed and Willie Green’s coaching challenge was spent on a successful overturn call earlier in the half.

But now the officials are admitting that their calls in the final seconds were wrong.

In the Pool Report, questions game officials take from the media in the postgame, Crew Chief Kevin Scott admits their mistakes in transcripts available at NBA.com.

“After postgame media review, Ingram was not out of bounds while making contact with the ball,” Scott said in the postgame Pool Report.

Scott said that since the incorrect call stood, time should not have been allowed to run off the clock after Ingram tapped it back into play as well.

After only scoring four points in the first half, Ingram finished the night as the team’s leading scorer with 26 points in the loss.

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Mavs hang on after Doncic hurt, hand Pels 10th straight loss

Weather delays add to Pelicans’ stretch of bad luck

The Pelicans now are on a 10-game losing streak with a schedule that doesn’t get easier in the short term. They face LeBron James, who will soon break the NBA’s all-time scoring record, and the Lakers on Saturday, followed by the Kings on Sunday.

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