The San Antonio Spurs apparently pulled their goalie in the last second of their playoff game against the Dallas Mavericks.
Deadspin.com reported that after Monte Ellis inexplicably threw the ball out of bounds with 1.3 seconds left in Game 6 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs, the Spurs employed six players on the quart when they took the ball out of bounds underneath their own basket.
You can see the video with the six players pointed out on Deadspin.
The Mavericks led 113-111 after Spurs guard Patty Mills hit a 26-foot 3-pointer with seven second left. As Ellis took the inbounds pass in the backcourt and tried to elude Spurs defenders, he scrambled close to the out of bounds line near the scorer's table.
Sensing he was going to be fouled, Ellis tried to throw the ball into the Spurs backcourt but threw it too hard and gave San Antonio a chance to tie or win with 1.3 second left.
The Spurs, out of timeouts, had to take the ball out underneath their own basket. Boris Diaw took the ball out and had two players in the backcourt - Manu Ginobili and Mills, and three players in the frontcourt - Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green.
With a Dallas defender on Diaw with the inbounds pass, Green was left free on the scorer's table side of the Spurs frontcourt. But Diaw tried to throw the pass to Tim Duncan instead, and the Mavericks defenders converged to knock the ball out of bounds with 0.4 seconds.
The video from the NBA, above, conveniently edits out the six-player gaffe.
On the Spurs final desperation shot, Mills' 3-point attempt came after the buzzer, preserving the Mavericks' victory and forcing Game 7 in San Antonio on Sunday.
What do you think the NBA would have done had the Spurs scored on the full-court inbounds to tie or win the game? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
© 2023 Sportsworldnews.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
