The Dallas Mavericks moved to the Western Conference finals spectacularly on Sunday evening, defeating the No. 1 seed Phoenix Suns, 123-90, in a game that was not as close as the lopsided scoreboard portrays.
Even though the conclusion was evident for the entire second half, the Mavericks’ celebrations did not begin immediately. After the final buzzer, there was a little brawl, and Boban Marjanovic had to be restrained by his teammates.
With fewer than five seconds remaining, Marjanovic received a pass over halfcourt and was about to dribble out the time when Aaron Holiday snuck in, swiped the ball, and ran the other way to hit a long 3-pointer at the buzzer. The TV coverage had already cut to the Mavericks bench, so the event was missed, but Marjanovic was irritated.
Marjanovic rushed in as Holiday conversed with Davis Bertans and Spencer Dinwiddie, his former Washington Wizards colleagues. Several Mavericks players and coaches escorted Marjanovic away, and Jae Crowder even arrived to calm him down.
Somebody grab Boban 😂 pic.twitter.com/H0eUcUdAq8
— Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (@LeBatardShow) May 16, 2022
While Marjanovic didn’t need to create a fight over the event, it’s understandable that he was irritated. Holiday made an unnecessary move after the game had already been settled.
Fortunately, calmer heads prevailed in the end, and Marjanovic and the Mavericks were able to continue and enjoy the team’s first participation in the conference finals since 2011.
