Warriors’ Damion Lee and Mavs’ Davis Bertans involved in ‘incident’
With the two players almost losing their cool, it was plain to see just how high the stakes were in a Game 2 that the Mavericks probably should have won.
There was a bit of everything in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals between Golden State Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks, including one very strange moment between two opposing players
Damion Lee and Davis Bertans take center stage in Mavs vs Warriors Game 2
While the headlines will all surely point towards the dramatic fashion in which the Mavericks let a 19 point lead slip to ultimately lose Game 2 to the consummately adept Golden State Warriors, there was one particular moment that would have left fans scratching their heads when the two teams faced off on Friday night in their Wester Conference final series. Indeed, one could say that boiling point was reached in what can only be described as a unusual sequence of events involving the Warriors’ Damion Lee and the Mavericks’ Davis Bertans.
With a little more than eight minutes left in the second quarter, Spencer Dinwiddie swung the ball to Bertans in the corner, and the big man managed to get off a quick-fire 3-pointer. At the same time Lee did his best to stop the release - probably illegally so - though in the end he was unsuccessful as Bertrans did in fact drain the basket, though he was knocked to the ground for his troubles. With no foul called, the Mavericks center did what any player in that situation should do, he got to his feet as quickly as he could and then attempted to get back in an effort to play defense. As he tried to do so, however, Lee appeared to try jumping over him which resulted in an unsightly collision, the end result of which was Lee landing on his back.
What happened between Davis Bertans and Damion Lee?
Understandably with the tide turning in what was an intense game, tempers were immediately lost on both sides. Players from both teams could be seen exchanging words aggressively with each other just in front of the Mavericks’ bench which as one can imagine didn’t help either. Though there was ultimately no physicality added to the dispute, the referees were quick to respond by giving a technical foul to Lee and Bertans each. Was the contact worthy of penalties handed out to each player? Possibly not, but regardless it did little to stem the tide of a late Warriors resurgence.
Where do the Mavericks go from here?
With lamentations from the coach and players alike regarding their one dimensional approach in Game 2′s loss, the Mavericks are all to aware that they now face an incredibly difficult task as they look to overturn the Warriors’ 2-0 lead in the series. Jason Kidd and his charges will know that simply acknowledging their heavy reliance on distance shooting won’t be enough in game three, they will now have to be more aggressive in taking the ball to the hoop if they hope to turn the series around and in so doing prolong their post season campaign.