Game 3 Antics

I'm growing a little frustrated with everything I'm reading about the Game 3. Everybody is missing the crucial point. Melo hit the ridiculous three.

Dallas fans can moan and groan all they want. There were 61 fouls called during the game, and Dallas had a +7 advantage in fouls called for them. Dirk clanked one off the rim with 32 seconds left. And Melo hit the ridiculous three.

For the last 3 minutes of the fourth quarter, when Dallas had a consistent 1-3 point lead the entire time, I was waiting for the Nuggets to roll over and play dead. It seemed like the Nuggets would drive, work insanely hard, and then, if they were lucky, hit a basket. The Mavs, on the other hand would drive, dish, dish, dish, wide-open shot. Or, more often, dish, dish, dish, and then get fouled. The way fouls were getting called I thought the refs had the whistles stuck in their throats. And while there wasn't a particularly major advantage, as a Nuggets fan, I was very frustrated with every call. When the Birdman fouled out I was livid, not because his 6^th foul was bad, but because his fourth and fifth ones were weak, borderline calls/noncalls. When Melo hit his fifth, I expected him to foul out. And with five fouls Nene wasn't able to play any defense. J. R. Smith was absurdly quiet, hitting one three, and driving to the rim a couple times. Basically, a complete nonfactor. And yet, with 1 second left Melo hit the ridiculous three.

The Mavs had 47:53 minutes to take over the game and destroy the Nuggets. They should have even kept playing when Melo when the whistle wasn't blown. In any and every sport you play you don't stop playing until you hear a whistle. So why Antoine Wright gave up, and waved his hands in the air as if he didn't even foul is a mystery to me. I think the Mavs wanted it both ways. Had Melo missed the shot, the Mavs would be the ones saying, yep, that was a good non-call. In the sub-seconds before the ball swished through the net, I bet Wright was thinking he made a brilliant play and forced Melo to get off a very awkward shot. But…Melo hit the ridiculous three.

Dallas, stop whining. It's pathetic. You caught a sloppy Denver team (we always start slow after long layovers), who was ice cold the entire night, with their best players in foul trouble. That last foul could have gone either way. I mean we won for many reasons: Chauncey wouldn't let us lose. Nene had an awesome dunk in the last 30 seconds of the game. Birdman's 2^nd quarter hustle kept us in it. J. R. actually played some good defense. And, of course, Melo hit the ridiculous three.