Giannis Antetokounmpo poured in 40 points and Damian Lillard added 27 to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 132-125 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday in a marquee matchup featuring superstars.

Antetokounmpo shot 18 of 26 from the field and grabbed 14 rebounds to go with seven assists, as he bounced back from scoring 16 points Friday at Charlotte.

Pat Connaughton scored 16 points, including a 3-pointer with 67 seconds left to extend the Bucks’ lead to 130-125.

Kyrie Irving scored 39 points and Luka Dončić had 35 with nine boards and nine assists. The duo combined to shoot 31 for 54 from the floor.

 Gilgeous-Alexander scores 40 in Thunder’s OT win

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 40 points and Chet Holmgren has his best game as a pro with 36 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as the Oklahoma City Thunder handed the Golden State Warriors their sixth straight loss, 130-123 in overtime.

Andrew Wiggins sank a 3-pointer with three seconds left in regulation to put Golden State up 117-114, but Holmgren’s 3 with one second remaining forced overtime.

The Thunder outscored the Warriors 13-6 in the extra period, with Gilgeous-Alexander scoring eight straight points.

Wiggins finished with 31 points and Stephen Curry had 25 in his return from a right knee injury, but Golden State dropped to 1-6 on its home court.

Bulls rally to end Heat’s winning streak

DeMar DeRozan hit a key basket late and the Chicago Bulls overcame a 21-point deficit for a 102-97 victory, ending the Miami Heat’s seven-game winning streak.

Chicago fell behind by double digits for the third straight game and trailed 22-1 midway through the first quarter but managed to rally to end a three-game skid.

DeRozan scored 23 points and his 18-foot fadeaway with 22 seconds left put the Bulls ahead for good.

Jimmy Butler had 25 points for Miami, which didn’t trail until the game’s final minute. He missed a pair of 3-pointers in the final seconds.

A 30-point triple-double from LaMelo Ball was not enough to get the Charlotte Hornets across the line against the Dallas Mavericks.

Ball scored 23 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter of Charlotte’s 124-118 defeat, to go along with 10 rebounds and 13 assists.

A quiet start from Luka Doncic allowed the Hornets to gain an early advantage, but the Slovenian eventually found his groove to lead the Mavericks’ second-half comeback.

He finished with 23 points, while Kyrie Irving added 18.

The Memphis Grizzlies defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 112-100 on the back of Desmond Bane’s 30-point effort.

The visitors left it until late, launching a 24-point comeback in the final quarter to pick up their first win of the season.

Jerami Grant top-scored for Portland with 27.

The Phoenix Suns snapped a three-game losing streak with a 120-106 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Kevin Durant stepped up in the absence of injured starting duo Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, scoring a season-high 41 points in the 14-point victory.

The Cleveland Cavaliers surprised the Golden State Warriors 115-104, while Scottie Barnes scored 30 points to lead the Toronto Raptors over the San Antonio Spurs 123-116.

Nikola Jokic scored 33 points and fell an assist shy of a triple-double as the Denver Nuggets sent the Dallas Mavericks to their first loss of the season, 125-114 on Friday in the inaugural In-Season Tournament.

Michael Porter Jr. had 24 points and nine rebounds and Jamal Murray added 18 points and 13 assists to help Denver bounce back from its first loss of the season.

Jokic shot 14 of 16 and grabbed a season-high 14 boards, coming up an assist short of his 108th career triple-double.

Luka Doncic also just missed a triple-double with 34 points, 10 boards and eight assists and Kyrie Irving scored 22 points for Dallas, which opened the season 4-0.

The Mavericks were without coach Jason Kidd, who didn’t make the trip due to a non-COVID-19 illness. Top assistant Sean Sweeney took his spot on the bench.

Dallas' loss leaves 4-0 Boston as the league’s lone remaining unbeaten team.

Curry’s last-second layup lifts Warriors

Stephen Curry scored 30 points and made the winning layup with 0.2 seconds left to propel the Golden State Warriors to a 141-139 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the teams’ first In-Season Tournament game.

Curry’s basket was initially waved off because of offensive goaltending, but it was overturned, and the Warriors notched their second straight last-second win. Klay Thompson hit a jumper with less than a second remaining in Wednesday’s win over Sacramento.

Dario Saric had 20 points and Andrew Wiggins added 17 to help Golden State win its fifth straight since a season-opening loss to Phoenix.

Lu Dort led the Thunder with 29 points – including 6 of 6 from 3-point range - and Chet Holmgren had a career-high 24 on 7-of-9 shooting with eight rebounds and five assists.

Oklahoma City played without leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who sat out with a sprained knee.

Bucks overcome Brunson, Knicks

Damian Lillard scored six straight points down the stretch on his way to 30 points and the Milwaukee Bucks got past the New York Knicks, 110-105 to open the inaugural In-Season Tournament.

Milwaukee survived Jalen Brunson’s 45 points and blew a 14-point lead before Lillard sank a 3-pointer to give the Bucks a 104-103 lead with 1:03 left.

Lillard converted a three-point play 25 seconds later to make it 107-103 and sealed the win with two free throws in the waning seconds.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Milwaukee, which has alternated wins and losses in each of its five games this season.

Brunson was 17 of 30 from the field and fell three points shy of his career high, set against Cleveland on March 31.

Luka Doncic amassed 35 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists to help the Dallas Mavericks continue their strong start to the NBA season with Monday's 125-110 road win over the slumping Memphis Grizzlies. 

Coming off a 49-point effort in a win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, Doncic followed up by making 6 of 12 attempts from 3-point range and going 11 of 22 overall from the field to lead the way as the Mavericks improved to 3-0.

Derrick Jones added 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting and Tim Hardaway Jr. had 21 points on a night Dallas played without its other star guard, Kyrie Irving, due to a left foot sprain.

Memphis, which had the Western Conference's second-best record at 51-31 last season, fell to 0-4 despite 30 points each from Jaren Jackson Jr. and Desmond Bane. The Grizzlies also got 23 points and nine assists from Marcus Smart in a losing cause.

The short-handed Grizzlies have opened the season without a pair of starters in All-Star Ja Morant and center Steven Adams. Morant is serving a 25-game suspension by the NBA for conduct detrimental to the league, while Adams is not expected to play in 2023-24 after recently undergoing knee surgery.

Jokic powers 4-0 Nuggets past Jazz

Nikola Jokic recorded the 107th triple-double of his illustrious career with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists to lead the unbeaten Denver Nuggets to a 110-102 win over the Utah Jazz.

Jokic made 12 of 16 field-goal attempts and added a pair of blocks while tying LeBron James and Jason Kidd for fourth on the NBA's all-time list in triple-doubles. 

Denver also got an efficient shooting night from Aaron Gordon, who finished 12 of 16 from the field while compiling 21 points and seven rebounds. Jamal Murray chipped in 18 points and 14 assists as the defending NBA champions moved to 4-0.

Lauri Markkanen paced Utah with 27 points, 14 rebounds and five assists, while Walker Kessler tallied 22 points on 10-of-11 shooting along with 13 rebounds.

The Jazz led for just 16 seconds and trailed by as many as 17 points to fall to 1-3.

Curry's hot hand sparks Warriors' rout of Pelicans

Stephen Curry drained seven 3-pointers and finished with 42 points as the Golden State Warriors continued their recent roll with a 130-102 rout of the New Orleans Pelicans.

With long-time backcourt mate Klay Thompson unavailable with a sore right knee, Curry carried the Warriors' offence by going 15 of 22 from the floor and 7 of 13 on 3-point tries. The two-time NBA MVP added five assists to help the Warriors to a third straight victory following a season-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns.

Curry has now made 24 3-pointers during the Warriors' 3-1 start, the most by any player through four games of a season in NBA history. 

Moses Moody started in place of Thompson and scored 13 points, with Chris Paul and rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis also contributing 13 points off the bench in a game Golden State broke open in the second half.

The Warriors held a slim 59-57 advantage at half-time before outscoring the Pelicans by a 39-21 margin in the third quarter.

New Orleans had a two-game winning streak to begin the season snapped while playing without second-leading scorer Brandon Ingram, who was held out with a sore right knee.

Zion Williamson and CJ McCollum led the Pelicans with 19 points each.

Luka Doncic reminded the basketball world just how good he is, scoring 49 points as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Brooklyn Nets 125-120.

The Slovenian superstar hit four straight three-point shots in the final quarter, adding 10 rebounds and seven assists to his mammoth scoring effort, while Nets small forward Cam Thomas had 30 points in the losing side.

French rookie Victor Wembanyama secured the first win of his NBA career in style with 21 points and 12 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Houston Rockets 126-122 in overtime.

The 19-year-old proved he is more than ready for the NBA as he hit the game-tying bucket with 20 seconds left in regulation time and added crucial baskets in overtime.

Guard Alex Caruso handed the Chicago Bulls a dramatic victory over the Toronto Raptors, 104-103, with a go-ahead three with just two seconds left of overtime.

Demar DeRozan starred for the Bulls with 18 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter while Scottie Barnes had a triple double for the Raptors with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Steph Curry exploded for the Golden State Warriors with 41 points to get the win over the Sacramento Kings 122-114.

It was the battle of the guards throughout the game with Kings guard De’Aaron Fox trying to keep up with Curry, scoring 39 points.

The Boston Celtics took out last year’s runners up the Miami Heat 119-111, taking revenge on the team who knocked them out in the Eastern Conference finals.

Derrick White starred for the Celtics with 28 points while Tyler Herro matched that for Miami.

Nikola Jokic continued his hot start to the season for the Denver Nuggets with 22 points and 12 rebounds as the NBA champions took down the Memphis Grizzlies 108-104.

The Utah Jazz upset the Los Angeles Clippers 120-118 with forward Lauri Markkanen scoring 35 points with 12 rebounds, while Paul George scored 36 points for the Clippers.

Orlando Magic beat the Portland Trail Blazers, the New York Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks, Oklahoma City Thunder took down the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons made easy work of the Charlotte Hornets.

Luka Doncic poured in 49 points and sank a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 26.3 seconds remaining to lift the Dallas Mavericks to a 125-120 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday.

Cam Thomas’ 3-pointer with 51 seconds left forged a 120-all tie but Doncic answered 25 seconds later when he banked in a 25-foot hook shot from the right sideline while tightly guarded as the shot clock was about to expire.

The Mavericks superstar shot 16 of 25 – including 9 of 14 from deep – and added 10 rebounds and seven assists.

The game was the first between the teams since the February trade that sent 10-time All-Star Kyrie Irving to Dallas in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie.

Thomas scored 30 points in his seventh career NBA start, a game after setting a league record by scoring 36 points off the bench in a season opener.

Thomas, though, missed a potential tying 3-pointer with 16 seconds left, and Josh Green sealed Dallas’ win with two free throws three seconds later.

Irving finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 19 points.

Dinwiddie had 23 points and six 3s and Mikal Bridges scored 18 for the winless Nets.

Wembanyama sparks Spurs to OT win

Victor Wembanyama had 21 points, including the tying basket with 20 seconds left in regulation, and the San Antonio Spurs notched a 126-122 win in overtime against the Houston Rockets.

The No. 1 draft pick shook off a slow start and had 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in the second half and overtime in his first NBA victory.

Devin Vassell scored 25 points and Keldon Johnson added 20 for the Spurs, who bounced back after a season-opening loss to Dallas on Wednesday.

Wembanyama’s jumper early in overtime sparked a 6-0 run, and he made a pair of free throws with 1:45 left to give San Antonio a 120-115 lead.

Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 25 points.

Celtics beat Heat in East finals rematch

Derrick White scored 28 points with five 3-pointers and the Boston Celtics defeated the Miami Heat 119-111 on Friday in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference finals.

Jaylen Brown added 27 points and Jayson Tatum had 22 for the Celtics, who followed Wednesday’s season-opening victory over the Knicks with a win in their home opener.

Miami squandered a 3-0 series lead against the Celtics last season before winning Game 7 in Boston to advance to its seventh NBA Finals.

Tyler Herro led the Heat with 28 points and sank five of his team’s 16 3-pointers. Bam Adebayo added 27 points and Jimmy Butler scored 14 on 3-of-11 shooting.

Neither team led by more than five points at the end of any of the first three periods and there were six ties and six lead changes in the game.

Kristaps Porzingis called it an "awesome" feeling after dropping 30 points to lead the Boston Celtics to victory over his former team, the New York Knicks.

Porzingis was drafted by the Knicks with the fourth overall pick of the 2015 draft, spending four years at Madison Square Garden before he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks.

The Latvia native would go on to play for the Washington Wizards before joining the Celtics in a three-team trade prior to this season, and on his return to a hostile Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, Porzingis played a starring role for his new team on debut.

Porzingis finished with 30 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, scoring nine straight points in the fourth quarter to seal a 108-104 victory which got Boston, one of the favourites to reach the NBA Finals, off to a winning start to the new NBA season.

His 30 points were the most ever for a Celtics debut, leaving Porzingis ecstatic with his start in a new uniform and at the performance against his old team, as Jayson Tatum also impressed with a game-high 34 points.

Porzingis said: "Honestly, it’s an awesome feeling to come back now being a Celtic and to play here.

"Playing here at the Garden is always special as the home team, obviously, but also on the road here it's really fun too. Even getting booed and getting all that, it's still cool, I really like that and enjoyed that.

"At one point it got really crazy when the fans got into it and they made the comeback. But we stayed poised, we stayed calm and we were able to finish out the game. 

"Most importantly, we won the game and [I am] very excited about what we have ahead of us."

The Celtics are at home to the Miami Heat on Friday in a repeat of last season's Eastern Conference finals, which Boston lost in a thrilling seven-game series.

Miami started its season with a dramatic 103-102 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Luka Doncic played spoiler in number one draft pick Victor Wembanyama’s NBA debut as the Dallas Mavericks eclipsed the San Antonio Spurs 126-119.

After a solid start from the Spurs, the Mavericks were able to rally in the third quarter and hold on to their lead in the home stretch.

Doncic was central in Dallas’ third-quarter effort and finished with a 33-point triple-double.

Wembanyama had two threes in the opening quarter but was slowed by foul trouble until a fourth-quarter flourish lifted him to 15 points to go along with five rebounds.

New recruit Kristaps Porzingis played a pivotal role in seeing the Boston Celtics past the New York Knicks 108-104.

The former Knick combined with Jayson Tatum for 64 points, which included a tiebreaking three-pointer with 90 seconds left on the clock.

RJ Barrett scored 24 points for New York, while Immanuel Quickley added 24 off the bench.

Last season’s finalists the Miami Heat were pushed to their limit in a 103-102 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Miami looked to have victory all but sealed when they took a 19-point lead with nine minutes left.

Detroit were somehow able to claw their way back to within one, but ultimately fell short as Cade Cunningham missed a 30-foot jump shot at the buzzer.

It was also a close result in Brooklyn, where a late burst from Donovan Mitchell pushed the Cleveland Cavaliers past the Nets 114-113.

Mitchell scored 10 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, including a go-ahead three in the dying seconds.

A 25-point effort from PJ Washington helped the Charlotte Hornets down the Atlanta Hawks 116-110, and Zion Williamson scored 23 in the New Orleans Pelicans’ 111-104 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Elsewhere, the Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers opened their seasons with double-digit victories, while the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Portland Trail Blazers and the Toronto Raptors scraped past the Minnesota Timberwolves 97-94 in a low-scoring affair.

The NBA’s top free agent is already off the board.

Kyrie Irving has agreed to a contract to remain with the Dallas Mavericks and stay paired with superstar Luka Dončić, multiple media outlets reported Friday.

The deal is reported to be worth $126million over three seasons, with a player option for the final year.

The NBA's negotiating period began Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Deals will not be made official until the end of the league's annual moratorium on July 6.

The Mavericks acquired Irving at last season’s trade deadline for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and draft compensation, but Irving reportedly explored other options in free agency.

Irving had been eligible for a maximum contract of up to five years and $272million with Dallas, but he landed at a shorter deal after playing about 40 games per year over the last four seasons.

Irving accepting less than his maximum eligible contract opens up some or all of the non-taxpayer midlevel exception, up to $12.4million, for Dallas to use on role players.

While the Mavs were determined to keep a co-star to pair with Doncic, some have questioned the viability of the fit.

Dallas finished the season 9-18 after acquiring Irving and missed the playoffs. Irving averaged 27 points, five rebounds and six assists in 20 games with the Mavericks last season.

After helping the Cleveland Cavaliers win the 2016 NBA title, Irving has morphed into one of the more enigmatic players in basketball. His stints with the Cavs and Nets both ended with trade demands.

Irving has played 671 career games since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2011, averaging 23.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists.

The NBA has fined the Dallas Mavericks $750,000 for violating the league's resting policy in a 115-112 defeat to the Chicago Bulls last week.

Kyrie Irving, Josh Green, Tim Hardaway Jr, Maxi Kleber and Christian Wood were omitted for the game last Friday, while Luka Doncic only played the first quarter at American Airlines Center.

A loss at the hands of the Bulls ensured Dallas missed out on the play-in tournament but retained their number 10 slot in the 2023 NBA Draft lottery, still owing the New York Knicks a top-10 protected pick as part of a 2019 trade to acquire Kristaps Porzingis.

Mavs coach Jason Kidd called the selection an "organisational decision", adding: "It's not so much waving the white flag. It's [that] decisions sometimes are hard in this business. We're trying to build a championship team. With this decision, this is maybe a step back. But hopefully it leads to going forward."

The NBA on Friday announced the franchise will pay for "conduct detrimental to the league".

A statement released by the league said: "The Mavericks violated the league's player resting policy and demonstrated through actions and public statements the organisation's desire to lose the game in order to improve the chances of keeping its first-round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. 

"The league did not find that the players who participated in the game were not playing to win."

Joe Dumars, the NBA executive vice president and head of basketball operations, said: "The Dallas Mavericks' decision to restrict key players from fully participating in an elimination game last Friday against Chicago undermined the integrity of our sport. The Mavericks’ actions failed our fans and our league."

Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison is confident about re-signing Kyrie Irving despite the side's disappointing late-season slide that saw them miss the playoffs.

The Mavs endured a 7-18 run to end the season, missing the play-in tournament altogether with an 11th-place finish in the Western Conference.

That came after they traded in Irving in February to become a championship contender. The All-Star guard quickly asserted he would not discuss a contract extension publicly following the trade.

Irving is eligible to sign for as much as $272 million over five years at the Mavs, or around $202m for years at another franchise, leading to questions about his future.

Harrison met with Irving on Monday for his exit interview after the Mavs' season ended on Sunday.

"I think the things that he said along the way about how he feels here, how he feels appreciated, how he feels accepted and allowed to be himself - those are the things that he said kind of consistently," Harrison said.

"That's what gives me the optimism that he wants to be here."

The Mavs struggled for synergy in their backcourt with Irving alongside Luka Doncic following the trade, leading to talk that the star-studded pairing is not worth persisting with.

"I think the two work together," Harrison said. "I think Luka and Kai work together.

"I think when we have that talented of a player - that talented of two players - I think they work together.

"I really think it's the players around them… kind of knowing their role with having those two guys out on the floor at the same time. I think that's the thing that we need to work on."

Harrison was also bullish about Doncic's long-term future, with the Slovenian offering assurance after Sunday's game saying he is happy in Dallas.

"Well, I take his words for it," Harrison said. "He says he wants to be here.

"He's under contract, so I don't go to sleep at night worried about, 'is Luka going to be a Maverick?' Because he is a Maverick, and he's under contract.

"Obviously, if that changes, then we'll have to reevaluate it. But I think our job really to keep Luka happy, if you will, is surrounding him by the right players to help him win. And I think Luka's a talent that deserves that."

Dallas Mavericks' All-Star guard Luka Doncic moved to dispel speculation about his long-term future with the franchise, insisting he is happy where he is.

Reports emerged suggesting Doncic could evaluate his future with the Mavericks after they missed the 2022-23 playoffs with their first losing season (38-44) since the Slovenian's rookie year with Dallas.

That came despite the March trade for Kyrie Irving in an effort to make them championship contenders, yet they struggled with a miserable 7-18 run end to the season.

Doncic previously acknowledged publicly that he has been frustrated by their slide, but claimed that was natural given their poor results.

The guard signed a $207million contract extension in August 2021 keeping him tied with the Mavs until 2027, but players have opted out of long-term deals in the past.

Dallas owner Mark Cuban said this week that the Mavs had to "earn" Doncic's loyalty for him to spend his entire career with them.

The Slovenian cooled the concerns after the Mavs' season ended with a 138-117 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

"I'm happy here, so there's nothing to worry [about]," Doncic told reporters.

"I saw the report. I don’t know who, somebody said I was going to request a trade. It was funny as I didn’t know it was true. I didn’t say it."

Doncic said he hoped for offseason personnel changes to bolster the Mavs line-up, although he declined to comment on any specific player targets. He also endorsed Irving as his backcourt partner despite their struggles since his arrival.

"Something's got to change, for sure," Doncic said. "I mean, last year we went to Western Conference finals. We were having fun. I always talk about the chemistry we had. It was great. But something's got to change for sure."

On Irving, Doncic added: "I think it's a great fit. Obviously people are going to say no [and] look at the results we are having, but like I said, chemistry and relationships takes time. I wish he can still be here."

The Mavs are under NBA investigation after resting a series of key players for their penultimate game against the Chicago Bulls which they lost 115-112, ending their hopes of making the play-in tournament.

Finishing 11th in the West and missing the play-in meant the Mavs finished with the 10th-best lottery odds, which is important as Dallas owe the New York Knicks a top-10-protected pick, prompting the investigation.

"I didn't like that decision," Doncic said. "That's it."

The NBA is investigating the Dallas Mavericks' team selection from their 115-112 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Friday.

The defeat ensured Dallas miss out on the play-in tournament but retain their number 10 slot in the 2023 draft lottery, still owing the New York Knicks a top-10 protected pick as part of a 2019 trade to acquire Kristaps Porzingis.

The Mavericks left out Kyrie Irving, Josh Green, Tim Hardaway Jr, Maxi Kleber and Christian Wood, while Luka Doncic only played the first quarter at American Airlines Center.

Mavs coach Jason Kidd had called it an "organisational decision", later adding: "It's not so much waving the white flag. It's [that] decisions sometimes are hard in this business. We're trying to build a championship team. With this decision, this is maybe a step back. But hopefully it leads to going forward."

Owner Mark Cuban had previously denied his team would deliberately tank, saying on Wednesday: "The guys don't want to do that. Players aren't going to do that. Players don't do that."

However, multiple reports on Saturday said the league would be looking into the matter, citing a statement from NBA spokesperson Mike Bass on Saturday.

"The NBA commenced an investigation today into the facts and circumstances surrounding the Dallas Mavericks' roster decisions and game conduct with respect to last night's Chicago Bulls-Mavericks game, including the motivations behind those actions," Bass said.

Kidd has already confirmed his star players will also not feature in Dallas' final game of the season against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.

The Dallas Mavericks entered play Friday facing a must-win game to stay in contention for a play-in spot, but decided as an organisation to give up on their playoff dreams this season.

Facing elimination, the Mavericks decided to sit All-Star Kyrie Irving and four other regulars against the Chicago Bulls in a game with draft implications. They ended up going down 115-112 in a game where superstar Luka Doncic only played the first quarter before sitting out the rest of the way.

Dallas needed to win their final two regular-season games and have the Oklahoma City Thunder lose to the Memphis Grizzlies in their final game for the Mavericks to get the 10th seed in the Western Conference.

Despite being alive for the playoffs, the Mavs chose to instead prioritise their potential assets in June's NBA Draft. They had traded their 2023 first-round pick to the New York Knicks back in 2019 as part of the package for Kristaps Porzingis, and placed a top-10 protection on the pick.

It means if their pick this year lands in the top 10, Dallas will get to keep the pick, but if it is 11th or lower it will get sent to New York.

The decision to punt on the rest of this season boils down to the fact that the Mavericks were tied with the Bulls for the 10th-worst record in the NBA at 38-42, but with Friday's loss they greatly improved their chances of landing in the top 10.

Speaking to the media prior to the game, head coach Jason Kidd emphasised that this was not a decision by himself or the players.

"We were fighting for our lives, and understanding this is a situation we're in," he said. "But the organisation has made the decision to change [course].

"So, you know, we have to go by that and that's something that happens. So the guys that are playing, we got to go out there and put our best foot forward, and we talked about that this afternoon.”

When asked if he agreed with the decision, Kidd said: "Those are my bosses – so yes."

Dallas reached the Western Conference Finals last season and appeared primed to make another deep run after pulling off a blockbuster trade for Irving in February, but the team has wilted down the stretch.

The Mavs are just 5-11 when Irving and Doncic play together, and the team are 9-16 since Irving’s debut.

Despite giving their best effort to lose, Dallas led Chicago 91-85 after three quarters as the Bulls rested Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Patrick Beverley, having already locked up the East's 10th seed.

The NBA announced Thursday it has denied a protest issued by the Dallas Mavericks over a disputed basket that occurred during the team's two-point loss to the Golden State Warriors on March 22.

The league said in a statement that game officials incorrectly handled a confusing sequence that led to a Warriors' basket late in the third quarter of Golden State’s eventual 127-125 victory, but determined the Mavericks were not denied a fair chance to win the game.

The incident in question occurred following a timeout called by the Mavericks in which they believed they had possession when play was to resume. Official Andy Nagy at first pointed in the Warriors' direction to indicate Golden State would have possession, then pointed to the Mavericks' bench to award the timeout.

Dallas lined up on its offensive end following the timeout, which led to the Warriors’ inbounding the ball to Kevon Looney for an uncontested dunk that gave Golden State a 90-87 lead.

The game's public address announcer also erroneously stated that the Mavericks would have possession after the timeout.

Dallas did regain the lead twice in the fourth quarter and held a 119-118 advantage with under 3 1/2 minutes left in the game, which factored into the NBA's decision to deny the protest.

"The incident occurred with nearly 14 minutes remaining in the game, and Dallas thereafter took the lead twice in the final four minutes," the league said. "Under these circumstances, Dallas was not able to show – as required under the standard for NBA game protests – that it was deprived of a fair opportunity to win the game, and the protest failed on that basis alone.

"Although the game officials could have taken steps to better manage this particular situation, that did not provide a basis for the extraordinary remedy of upholding a game protest."

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban announced shortly after the game he planned to issue a protest while also heavily criticising the officials in a social media post.

"Worst officiating non call mistake possibly in the history of the NBA," Cuban tweeted. "All they had to do was tell us (it was the Warriors' ball) and they didn’t."

The NBA said Dallas acknowledged that the officials signalled Golden State possession in its formal filing of the protest.

The decision to uphold the final result could have a major impact on the Western Conference playoff race. The Warriors currently are one game ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans for the No. 6 seed, which would allow Golden State to avoid the play-in tournament.

Dallas is presently tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 10th and final spot for the play-in tournament with two games remaining in the regular season.