As long as the NBA playoffs exist, there will be chatter about the officiating.
But no matter whether the calls are even or one team feels like they got slighted, there’s a simple truth that overrides everything else regarding the whistles.
If you don’t make your free throws, none of the rest matters, a fact that slapped the Mavericks into the loss column on Monday night.
They had too many misfires when they were wide-open from 15 feet and that doomed them in Game 4 as Oklahoma City rallied for a 100-96 victory to tie the series at two wins apiece.
With the American Airlines Center crowd trying to razz the Thunder at ear-splitting decibels, they calmly sank 23 of 24 free throws, including making all seven of them in the fourth quarter.
The Mavericks? They made barely 50 percent of their free throws – 12-of-23. That 11-point disparity was a lethal flaw in a game that they played about as hard as a team can play, as did the Thunder.
“We got to work on our free throws,” said Luka Dončić, who was the best Maverick from the stripe at 4-of-6, although he missed one of two free throws with 10.1 seconds remaining that left the Mavericks down 96-95. “We shot 52 percent. That’s unacceptable.”
And it derailed what was otherwise a well-played game by the Mavericks. They led most of the way with exemplary defense before a 35-point Thunder fourth quarter changed everything.
“We got to do better,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We can’t shoot 50 percent (from the line) if we want to win. We’ll talk about it tomorrow and we’ll get better and we’ll have another opportunity on Wednesday.
“It’s just part of the game. You got to be able to step up and make the free throws. They were 23 of 24. And we weren’t even close. We just have to be better in that area.”
The Mavericks had fallen behind in the late going and were down 96-91 with 1:01 showing. Dereck Lively II missed the second of two free throws. Then, with 10 seconds left and the Mavericks down 96-94, Luka missed the first of his two shots. He made the second, but Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren made both of his free throws with 9.4 seconds left to put the Mavericks in a 98-95 hole.
The Thunder fouled P.J. Washington, who missed the first shot. With the Mavericks down 98-95 and 3 seconds left, the veteran forward had to try to miss the second free throw.
““Yeah, I tried to miss it,” he said. “Just my luck, it goes in. So, obviously, throughout the game, we got to be better at the line. If that happens, we win the game.”
But it didn’t. It was just another reminder of how small the margin of error is in a hotly contested playoff series.
Still a strong bond: Jason Kidd said he has been in contact with Indiana Pacers’ coach Rick Carlisle, who was the coach in Dallas when the Mavericks won their only championship in 2011 and Kidd was the point guard teaming with Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion and the rest of the gang.
“I have heard from Rick. We text back and forth,” Kidd said. “It’s great to see where he has Indiana in the series (with New York), which is 2-2. So that’s actually a great series to watch.
“Rick is great. Rick is a championship coach and one of the best coaches in this league. So what he’s doing at Indiana now is great to see.”
Quick studies: Thunder coach Mark Daigneault had an interesting response in his pregame news conference about whether players can adjust to the way the referees are calling a game quickly or whether it can take as long as a half.
He said by the time you get to the second round of the playoffs, it should be a relatively quick learning curve.
“If they (the officials) set a tone and are consistent with it, you can tell in six minutes,” Daigneault said. “Where it gets difficult is if it’s a moving target. But these are playoff crews and that shouldn’t be the case. And for us, it really hasn’t been.”
The youthful coach, who like virtually all his players is in the conference finals for the first time, also doesn’t pay much attention to what is said to the refs by players, either his own or the opponent.
“I really don’t care what anyone says to the referees as long as it’s not influencing the referees,” he said. “Their job is to be objective. If it starts to feel subjective and starts to feel like there’s outside influences, that’s when I’ll make my voice known. But I don’t anticipate that, especially in the second round of the playoffs.”
Asked if that does happen on occasion, he said: “Yeah, of course. But this is my first time in the second round of the playoffs so I’m going to assume it won’t happen here.”
By the way, as Daigneault said: “A year ago, I was at the (the NBA draft) combine. I would much rather be sitting here than at the combine.”
Momentum shifters: When Tim Hardaway Jr. hit a three-pointer just before the end of the third quarter in Game 3 on Saturday, it was a big boost for the Mavericks, lifting their lead from one point to 82-78.
It was one of many shots that are going in from long range right before the buzzer ending a quarter, half or game, including Denver’s Jamal Murray, who hit a 55-footer at the halftime buzzer in Game 4 of the Nuggets’ win over Minnesota.
“They’re very important,” Kidd said of the end-of-quarter possessions. “Every point, no matter if it’s at the buzzer of the first, second or third or, if it’s they’re at the end of the fourth, most of the time it’s for the game, or to tie.
“But everyone has range. At the end of our shootarounds, everyone is shooting half-court shots and everyone has made one at some point in the season.”
Has Kidd participated in that exercise?
“No, if the head coach takes it and makes it, everybody gets mad,” he said.
But there’s no denying they can be crucial shots during games.
“Sometimes those are momentum (grabbers) for the team that makes them and for the team it goes against, it can kill a run,” Kidd said.
X: @ESefko
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