Mark Cuban, Rick Carlisle say Matt Barnes interfered on key basket

The moment Matt Barnes jumped, the Dallas Mavericks bench went crazy.

Pau Gasol had just launched a corner three-pointer, and Barnes jumped so he could tip in a possible putback. It wasn’t needed. Gasol’s three-pointer swished into the net and marked one of many clutch plays that led to the Lakers’ 112-108 overtime victory Sunday over the Dallas Mavericks.

The play gave the Lakers a 103-101 lead with 3:48 left in overtime, but the Mavericks believe the basket shouldn’t have counted.

Owner Mark Cuban and Coach Rick Carlisle argue that Barnes should’ve been called for offensive interference. Cuban told ESPN Dallas’ Jeff Caplan and the Dallas Morning News’ Eddie Sefko that he immediately emailed the NBA that “any potential basket interference in the last two minutes of a game or overtime should be reviewed.” Carlisle said afterward that it was “black and white” regarding his charge that Barnes should’ve been charged for offensive interference.

“He touched the ball, it’s clear on video,” Carlisle said. “It’s a missed offensive interference call and we should have maintained a one-point lead at that point.”

ABC analyst Hubie Brown reached similar conclusions. But the video evidence in this clip isn’t exactly clear cut.

Barnes puts his hands on the rim in the 1:34 mark in the video above, but it’s unclear if he also touched the ball. According to the NBA rulebook, a player should be called for goaltending or offensive interference if a player “vibrate(s) the rim or backboard so as to cause the ball to make an unnatural bounce.” In the aforementioned play, Gasol’s three-pointer swished into the net. The rulebook also states that a player should be called for goaltending or offensive interference if he “touch[es] any live ball from within the playing area that is on its downward flight with an opportunity to touch the basket ring. This is considered to be a ‘field goal attempt’ or trying for a goal.”

Even if the NBA could review such plays late in the game, the video clip hardly provides a definitive answer.

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