The German national basketball player Maximilian Kleber and the Dallas Mavericks have suffered a setback in the race for the play-off places. In the duel against champion Golden State Warriors, the Texans lost in front of home crowd narrowly with 125:127 and missed it to equal in the Western Conference with the Warriors.
Currently, the Mavericks are ninth in the West, only the best six teams move safely into the final round. The teams in seventh to tenth place in each conference qualify for a tournament in which the last two play-off places are awarded.
Anger at the referees
However, a controversial situation late in the third quarter caused discussion: After a timeout, the Mavericks apparently defended the wrong basket, which led to two easy points for opponents Golden State. Mavs club boss Mark Cuban later claimed that there had been insufficient communication between the referees towards the Dallas sidelines, which is why coaches and players were unaware of the new game situation.
Cuban announced on ESPN after the controversial decision of the referees a protest against the game rating and complained about one of the "worst mistakes in the history of the NBA". The last successful protest in the league dates back to January 2008.
The Mavericks had to do without star Kyrie Irving against the Warriors, but Luka Doncic returned after a two-week injury break. The Slovenian scored 30 points, making him the outstanding player of the game. Kleber scored five points.
Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies, meanwhile, experienced a successful return to the NBA after his suspension. Morant contributed 130 points to his team's 125:17 victory against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday (local time). The top player of the Grizzlies had been suspended by the North American league for a controversial nightclub video and "league-damaging behavior" for eight games and came back for the first time.
The Los Angeles Lakers with national player Dennis Schröder kept their chances for the playoffs. Even without the still injured star LeBron James, the Lakers won 122:111 against the Phoenix Suns. Schröder scored 13 points. The Lakers are in tenth place in the West, just behind the Mavericks.
The New York Knicks with the German center Isaiah Hartenstein lost at the Miami Heat with 120:127 and missed it to distance a competitor for the direct playoff entry. The Knicks are in fifth place in the East, two wins ahead of the Heat. Hartenstein scored two points.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers have to do without Paul George (32) for up to three weeks. The eight-time NBA All-Star is stopped by a knee injury and could be out until the end of the main round. George, who suffered the injury on Tuesday (local time) in the game against Oklahoma City Thunder (100:101), is to be examined according to club information in two or three weeks with a view to a possible comeback. For the Clippers, the regular season ends on April 9, the Californians are in the West as fifth in the table on a direct play-off place.