Anthony’s 3 puts Nuggets up 3-0

By JAIME ARON, AP Sports Writer May 9, 11:39 pm EDT

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DALLAS (AP)—Antoine Wright(notes) had a simple objective. In a game with 61 fouls already called, he was trying to commit another.

Wright bumped Carmelo Anthony(notes) once, hard enough to knock him off stride. But not enough for a foul call.

So he jostled Anthony again. Still no call—and now Wright was out of position, leaving Anthony a clear look at the basket. His 3-pointer went right through with a second left, giving the Denver Nuggets a 106-105 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, and a 3-0 series lead that has been insurmountable in NBA history.

“I have hit a lot of big shots in my short career, but never in a situation like this,” Anthony said. “It was a thin line between 2-1 and 3-0.”

It’s even thinner than he thinks. About two hours after the game, the league office announced that Wright was right. In a brief statement, NBA president Joel Litvin said, “At the end of the Dallas-Denver game this evening, the officials missed an intentional foul committed by Antoine Wright on Carmelo Anthony, just prior to Anthony’s 3-point basket.”

The Nuggets can consider themselves lucky to be close enough to get saved by a controversial finish.

They missed 15 of their first 17 shots and made only two longer than 5 feet the entire first half. They finished with as many fouls as field goals and their center tandem of Nene and Chris Andersen(notes) struggled, Nene missing his first eight shots and “Birdman” fouling out in only 11 minutes.

Yet Denver never trailed by more than six. The Mavericks’ inability to pull away was as damaging as the non-call against Wright.

“The game didn’t come down to that last play,” Dallas guard Jason Kidd(notes) said. “You’ve got to make plays down the stretch, and we just didn’t do that.”

The Mavericks led 105-101 with 31 seconds left, then saw Anthony zip in for a quick dunk. Dirk Nowitzki(notes) missed a 13-footer with about 8 seconds left and missed a high-arching shot at the buzzer.

“This is about as tough of a loss as I’ve been a part of in my 11 years,” said Nowitzki, who overcame a difficult week off the court and a third-quarter leg bruise to score 33 points and grab 16 rebounds. “That’s a game we’ve got to have.”

During the timeout before Anthony’s winning shot, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle reminded his players they had a foul to give and told them to use it. Wright’s attempt was good enough for the league office, but not for the crew. The official closest to the play was Mark Wunderlich, the same official who did not call a foul on Los Angeles’ Derek Fisher(notes) at the end of Game 4 of last year’s Western Conference finals.

“What do you want me to do … take him out and then I get a flagrant two late in the game?” Wright said. “I made a play on the ball like I was told in the huddle and the call wasn’t made.”

Nuggets coach George Karl thought it was a great non-call.

“It seemed like he fumbled the ball,” Karl said.

When time ran out, the crowd fell silent, the Nuggets began to celebrate and the Mavericks began to gripe.

Josh Howard(notes) was among several clusters of Dallas players who appeared to be exchanging words with Denver players and staff. Owner Mark Cuban brushed by a cameraman on his way to the scene, then blew off steam behind the scorer’s table, his face reddening.

Cuban later sent an e-mail to The Associated Press reacting to the league admitting the refs goofed: “It’s a shame the game had to come down to this, but that’s the way it goes in the NBA sometimes.”

The Nuggets are up 3-0 in a best-of-seven series for the first time. They’ll go for the sweep Monday night.

All sorts of things are in their favor, from the fact no NBA team up 3-0 has ever lost the series to a 7-0 record against the Mavericks this season. Denver also is the only team to win in Dallas since mid-February; the Nuggets are 2-0 in that span, everyone else 0-17.

“We knew it would be a hard-fought game, four-quarter game,” said Chauncey Billups(notes), who scored 16 of his 32 points in the third quarter, when Denver was really struggling for baskets. “We just stayed with it. We came up with a great win.”

Anthony finished with 31 points, but needed 24 shots. He missed his first seven.

The Mavericks were hoping to feed off their crowd, just like the Nuggets did in the first two games at their place, but all the fouls kept the fans from getting into the action. The game was so blah that the public-address announcer reminded everyone at halftime that the team needed them to get more involved.

Jason Terry(notes) had 17 points, but was 5-of-12. Brandon Bass(notes) had 16 points but 12 came on free throws. Howard returned from an ankle injury that sidelined him early in Game 2 and scored 14.

Notes

After the game, the Nuggets said F Linas Kleiza(notes) broke the tip of his right thumb, calling it a non-basketball-related injury. … According to a police report, Wright had $120,000 in jewelry stolen from his condo Friday. … There was a pregame moment of silence in memory of Chuck Daly, the Hall of Fame coach who died earlier Saturday.

Updated May 9, 11:39 pm EDT
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340 Comments

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  1. Donut 5
    340. Posted by Donut 5 Mon May 11 8:03pm EDT

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    sweep
  2. HarleyBad Boy
    339. Posted by HarleyBad Boy Mon May 11 6:06pm EDT

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    The Mavericks are right with the Texas Rangers, Ok not quick that bad. Can't win for losing .
  3. rbs
    338. Posted by rbs Mon May 11 4:51pm EDT

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    All this is a perfect example of why the NBA "sucks" in relation to the other major sports. They allow travelling, palming, double standards for the "stars", and the officiating is far and away the worst of any sport. And what is this "playoff basketball" nonsense. I guess that means the players can play dirtier than they usually do. What does it say about the officiating when you need to tell the referee ahead of time that you are going to foul someone in this situation; so he will be sure and call the foul. That, alone, proves how pathetic the officiating is in the NBA. Normally the refs are supposed to "eat their whistles" at the end of close games. If its a foul, then it should be a foul, the time on the clock should have absolutely nothing to do with it. They don't want the "refs" determining the outcome of the games, let the players settle it on the court. Well, when a ref doesn't call a foul that should be called, then that's exactly what his non call is doing, affecting the outcome of the game. Question-- If a shot from a long distance is worth 3 points, why not make a dunk worth 1 point. For many years Shaq led the league in field goal percentage, and he can't actually shoot any better than I can. But he was great at dunking. Why is a dunk considered a shot? It's not a shot, it's a dunk. In conclusion, the NBA sucks, the officiating sucks, and the quality of play sucks. Other than that, it's really a great sport!!!!
  4. me
    337. Posted by me Mon May 11 3:43pm EDT

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    the mavs have the stones of a chipmunk. they showed it during their finals loss, they showed it losing to the 8th seed warriors, and they showed it again. hahaha
  5. Nate T
    336. Posted by Nate T Mon May 11 1:08pm EDT

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    I haven't seen anyone mention the large amount of BS foul calls the ref's blew on the Nuggets key players!!!
    Birdman fouls out in 11 minutes? Chauncy,Nene and Carmelo all had 5??!!!! I know they were on their court but come on! Some of those calls were crap and don't forget to mention Jason "I wrap my arm around your waist every attempt I get" Kidd!!! He scored most of his points by wrapping around players, and no call there!
    Bottom line is this: Denver played an ok game, Dallas threw everything they had at us and Denver was still only down by two points! Take away that three pointer, who's to say they don't tie the game and kick their a** in overtime? Denver is just the better team, it's pretty obvious when your beaten seven times by one team in one year!
  6. CoBaay KB24
    335. Posted by CoBaay KB24 Mon May 11 12:27pm EDT

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    that article is ridiculous, the mavs are just makin up excuses. The dude put his damn hands in the air trying to play it off like he didnt foul!!!! why would anybody throw there hands up like that and back off if they were tryin to get a foul
  7. IwishIcouldplay
    334. Posted by IwishIcouldplay Mon May 11 12:22pm EDT

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    jepgrc8920 - It would not have been an intentional. An intentional foul is a foul that occurs when the person does not attempt to go for the ball - like grabbing a player from behind. Even though the foul was committed on purpose, this was just a run of the mill reach in foul, which would have given the ball to the Nuggets out of bounds since they were not in the penalty yet. Basically the idea is to force the Nuggs to run a quick put of bounds play and stop Melo's dribble.

    Regardless, the call didn't change the game - the Mav's lousy protection of home court cost them the game.
  8. 60s4ever
    333. Posted by 60s4ever Mon May 11 11:30am EDT

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    Please. Melo never gets that call. He gets pounded a lot worse than that and a foul is never called. Why should this be any different? All Wright had to do was grab him.
  9. East Coast Bias
    332. Posted by East Coast Bias Mon May 11 10:05am EDT

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    Anyone complaining about the little bump that was not called please address the following: If Melo missed the three pointer, and the clock expired with the Mavericks winning, would you still be saying the whistle should have blown?
  10. <i>scottymac63</i>
    331. Posted by scottymac63 Mon May 11 9:48am EDT

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    These Mav's fans are the biggest bunch of Homers to come down the pike lately. You have no one to blame but your team for your lost. You're on your home court and you can't finish off the last 31 seconds with a 4 point lead. Was it the refs that threw up a three point attempt on your last possession with time still left on the shot clock? Was it the refs that were indecisive on fouling? Wright needs to learn how to foul. If Melo doesn't drain the 3, then you sure wouldn't be complaining about the call not being made. That would explain why Wright raised his hands up in the air right after he made that weak foul attempt. Sure appeared he was not trying to take the foul with his arms raised up... of course when the shot goes in, then he was cleary making a foul attempt. Give me a break... talk about trying to have it both ways. Go ahead, boycott game 4! Make complete fools of yourselves. And for Cuban, what an embarrassment! It's only a matter of time unitl he pulls an "Artest". Boy, I'd love to see it. What a clown. How many times do the Nuggets have to beat you before you accept the fact that they are the better team?
  11. John
    330. Posted by John Mon May 11 8:17am EDT

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    I think it's obvious that this particular ref was paid off to see to it that the Mavs did not win. Of course, the NBA NEVER does anything about a mistake. They may admit it, but they never do anything about it. The commissioner of the NBA is too much of a @#$% to ever actually do anything but sit on his dead ass when things like this happen
  12. <i>keef_the_thief@...</i>
    329. Posted by keef_the_thief@... Mon May 11 4:48am EDT

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    Here's an even simplier solution...since the refs are the one's who ultimately decide the game, allow them to play and have the player ref. Or even better just quit watching and get on with your lives!
  13. Sol D. Regor
    328. Posted by Sol D. Regor Mon May 11 1:44am EDT

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    The Mavs should boycott the next game. Mark Cuban can afford to stand on principle. The NBA should pay for their mistake. "Oops, we made the wrong call" is not enough.
  14. <i>jepgrc8920</i>
    327. Posted by jepgrc8920 Mon May 11 12:14am EDT

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    I wonder why this call would have made a difference? The rule states, if I am not wrong that : An intentional foul will result in two foul shots and the ball given back to the team being fouled. Unless there are more than one rule on this topic.
  15. <i>wayland_04</i>
    326. Posted by wayland_04 Sun May 10 11:49pm EDT

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    This is real dumb i am a mavs fan and yes we didnt play our best but the fact still remain the ref missed calling that foul but even if we do get sent home the nuggets want make it no way because they sucks so i dont see whats all the talk about hope they dont but they might sweep us only to come back and get swept so mavs fan dont worry they won that one by luck anyway.
  16. DANIEL
    325. Posted by DANIEL Sun May 10 10:38pm EDT

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    Even if the refs would have called the foul, lets say maybe 2 seconds left or even 1 second left. rebound back in to melo and he still would have made the shot. so either way nuggets win. can the softy mavs and thier softy fans say "sweep" .
  17. <i>jj_mj41</i>
    324. Posted by jj_mj41 Sun May 10 10:19pm EDT

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    fu ref
  18. Joseph
    323. Posted by Joseph Sun May 10 10:16pm EDT

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    First of all, it seemed to me that if the refs wanted to help the nuggets, they WOULD'VE called the foul. The odds of Melo making that shot under those circumstances are not good at all.

    Second, even if the foul is called, the Nuggets still get one more shot, and THEY GET TO RESET. They get to run a set play. Not run at the seat of their pants almost losing the dribble and putting up an off-balanced three.
  19. Pierce FU
    322. Posted by Pierce FU Sun May 10 10:16pm EDT

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    mavericks fans make a riot in the arena tomorrow haha my suggestion is when the mavs is down by 20 or 30 points make all the players be ejected by flagrant fouls all on melo or martin fuc..g cowards no sportsmanship at all
  20. Emie
    321. Posted by Emie Sun May 10 10:13pm EDT

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    Here's what I have to say;

    About the foul, the ref will be in a predicament in calling a foul: Wright was raising his both arms when guarding Carmelo, if that was a foul, Carmelo would not be in a good position to dribble around. The Nuggest won because of Anthony's great shot not because the ref did not call a foul. In order to see an intentional foul, his hands should be on Melo's body. If Anthony missed it, the Mavs would have won.

    If Melo missed it and the ref called a foul, that would be a continuation play and three free throws, Nuggets will still win if Melo converted all free throws. Please note that at anytime during the play, Melo was ready to shoot and a foul would give him free throws. The best time to foul was when Melo fumbled the ball, but Wright did not foul during that time. Wright should only stopped "fouling" only when he heard the whistle, like grabbing or holding Melo that.

    However, somebody played stupid before that play, that's why the Mavs lost. Remember there was only 2 secs differential between the shot clock and the game clock, but what happened? Dirk shoot with still 8 seconds left on the clock, while they are leading by 2 points, stupid or not? They should have shoot the ball when there was only 1 second or less in the shot clock, 3 secs on game clock, a long shot if that be, why, so that the ball will have to travel a second or two, and by rebound, there was no more time on the clock, or say 1 or 2 secs, but then with 2 secs, that's the time to give up a foul Nuggest will have no chance to even release a shot. They should have given the ball to Jason Kidd during that play. The ref did enough already, both Nene and the Birdman already fouled out, it was Dallas for the taking. They should not blame the refs for their stupidity, it was smart play by the ref.

    Players need to play it smart.
  21. Joseph
    320. Posted by Joseph Sun May 10 10:13pm EDT

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    This is the dumbest conversation. If Melo misses the shot, we never ever hear about the missed call. The Mavs don't complain and the League doesn't admit it missed a call. The odds of that shot going in, under those circumstances are so low. It went in. Now we gotta hear everyone crying about it.
  22. <i>phelgoth1</i>
    319. Posted by phelgoth1 Sun May 10 9:43pm EDT

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    Ladyrider said "You know what I hate about the Nuggets and their fans. Even after you won the game you showed no sportsmanship but only@#$%iness and arrogance. I wouldn't be a part of your organization either as a fan or player. Win or not the series glad I'm not you. With that said hope the Lakers kick your butt." Our team and our fans? What are you talking about? Your owner made an a$$ of himself on national television, your team started whining before the game had even ended (how 'bout trying to make something happen in the last second?), and you fans are the biggest bunch of babies I've ever heard. I hear no rational or logical arguments, just references to the one call (which at the time, clearly didn't benefit the Nuggets), no talk of how one team has completely out-classed the other on the court. I hope the basketball community isn't as stupid as you've represented, lady. I need to find a smarter forum...
  23. <i>phelgoth1</i>
    318. Posted by phelgoth1 Sun May 10 9:36pm EDT

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    "my suggestion to all the paying fans of mavs is to boycot the game on monday let the nba ponder on how to handle their officials " - uh, really? You wanna take someone's job away because he's missed two calls in the playoffs? I hope you're perfect at whatever you do, but most humans make mistakes every day. Missed calls happen all the time, many times per game. Finish plays and your team wouldn't be griping about the refs missing calls.
  24. ron
    317. Posted by ron Sun May 10 8:46pm EDT

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    the referee suck!!! @#$% @#$%!!!!
  25. <i>paolomendoza22@...</i>
    316. Posted by paolomendoza22@... Sun May 10 8:44pm EDT

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    after admtting the ref f... it up, has the nba organisation done anything? it happenned before the same referee, now what? will the ref be back again next season? - my suggestion to all the paying fans of mavs is to boycot the game on monday let the nba ponder on how to handle their officials
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Top Performers

 Top Performers
 Denver
C. Billups Chauncey Billups
9-16,  32 Pts
3 Rebs, 3 Assists
 Dallas
D. Nowitzki Dirk Nowitzki
9-19,  33 Pts
16 Rebs, 2 Assists

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