NBA: Jermaine O'Neal should have been called for goaltending vs. Mavs

The NBA acknowledged Wednesday that Jermaine O'Neal's late-game block against the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night, which led to Stephen Curry's game-winning buzzer-beater, should have been ruled a goaltend.

"Upon review at the league office, we have found that a shot taken by Dallas' Monta Ellis with 16.0 seconds remaining in overtime was on the way down when initially contacted and ruled a block by Golden State's Jermaine O'Neal, and should have been ruled a goaltend," the league said in a statement. "The exact trajectory of the ball when touched was impossible to ascertain with the naked eye, and the play was not reviewable."

With the loss, the Mavs fell to ninth place and now sit a half-game back from the Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.