Dirk Nowitzki on Kirk Hinrich foul: 'One of dumber fouls I've ever seen'
Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki has seen many things in his 17-year career, but what happened at the end of regulation in Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls left Nowitzki and Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau shaking their heads.
With 1.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the Bulls up by three and with a foul to give, Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich, who has been in the NBA for 12 years, fouled Mavericks guard Monta Ellis as he attempted a 28-foot running three-pointer.
Ellis hit all three free throws to send the game into overtime. Dallas went on to win 132-129 in double overtime and Ellis finished with a game-high 38 points (16-35 FG) in 45 minutes.
"In my 17 years, it was one of the dumber fouls I've ever seen," Nowitzki said, according to ESPN.com. "You wait all the way until he dribbles to the 3-point line to grab him, so that's obviously a tough one, tough play. I saw coach [Tom] Thibodeau was just shaking his head."
Hinrich took full responsibility for the play, even though Thibodeau took blame for the foul.
“I waited too long. I messed it up. It was a bonehead play. I know better than that,” Hinrich said. “This one's on me because I felt like we played a good game to that point. To get back to the point we were in a position to win. For them to tie it up on a play like that, it was a bad decision."
The win moved Dallas to 14-5, while Chicago fell to 11-7.
- Scooby Axson
