“Trae icing Luka’s dreams” - NBA fans lose their minds as Hawks push Mavericks one step closer to being eliminated from playoff contention

Following their last-second 132-130 overtime loss to Atlanta on Sunday night, the Dallas Mavericks’ playoff hopes seem far-fetched. Dallas (37-42, 11th in the West) is now one game behind the 10th-placed OKC Thunder (38-41) with three games remaining. The Mavs also do not own a tiebreaker against OKC. They will have to win at least two of their three remaining games just to have a chance to make the play-in. Dallas will also have to hope that OKC and the ninth-placed Minnesota Timberwolves (39-40) lose their remaining games.

NBA fans were in disbelief after the loss as it marked the Mavs’ seventh in eight games. It also dropped Dallas to 7-12 with star point guard Kyrie Irving after being acquired midseason. The loss led many fans to take to Twitter to have some fun at the expense of the Mavs. Meanwhile, others expressed their disappointment with Dallas’ disappointing season and called for the Mavs to throw in the towel.

“Trae icing Luka’s dreams,” one fan said.

“The Mavericks were supposed to be championship contenders and they aren’t even making the play-in,” another said.

Here are a few more of the top fan reactions to Dallas’ loss:

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd on Dallas’ slim playoff chances

Dallas Mavericks superstar guard Luka Doncic and Mavs coach Jason Kidd

The Dallas Mavericks had a chance to win Sunday’s game against Atlanta. However, Mavs superstar guard Luka Doncic missed a turnaround game-winning 3-point attempt at the buzzer in overtime. This came after Dallas was called for a foul on Hawks star point guard Trae Young on the previous play with 1.8 seconds remaining. That foul gave Young two free throw attempts that would end up deciding the game.

Following the game, Young explained that the foul was “kind of a lucky play for (Atlanta) and unlucky for (Dallas).”

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd also said that “it was a wild ending” and that “it was just unfortunate (Atlanta) got a foul there that could have gone either way.” However, Kidd was happy with the look that Doncic got to try and win the game:

“I thought Luka got a great look there at the end,” Kidd said.

“He's the one who can make it.”

The Hawks were led by star guard Dejounte Murray with 25 points, seven rebounds, and four assists on 52.4% shooting. Young added 24 points and 12 assists but shot just 33.3%.

Meanwhile, Dallas was led by Kyrie Irving with 41 points, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals on 59.3% shooting. Doncic added 22 points, seven rebounds and seven assists on 38.1% shooting.

The win moved Atlanta (39-39) back into eighth place in the Eastern Conference. Dallas (37-42) remains 11th in the Western Conference, however, Kidd is still optimistic about the Mavs’ playoff chances:

“We know the position we’re in,” Kidd said.

“We’re playing catch-up. We’ve got to find a way to win and right now we’re coming up short.”

Atlanta will next play on Tuesday against Chicago (38-40, 10th in the East).

Dallas will next play on Wednesday against Sacramento (47-31, third in the West).