The Dallas Mavericks led the Spurs 121-119 with 1.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter on Wednesday night. They needed to inbound the ball, draw a foul, and send a player to the free-throw line to try to cement the win, but Maxi Kleber sailed a full-court pass out of bounds to give San Antonio a chance.
After Kleber's miscue, Malaki Branham connected with Keldon Johnson for an alley-oop slam to send the game into overtime. And Kleber gave up this alley-oop as he was supposed to be guarding Johnson on that play.
The Mavericks ultimately won the game in overtime, but these mistakes could have been costly as every game carries so much weight this late in the season.
Maxi Kleber gets redemption with game-winner in Los Angeles
The Mavericks' next game was in Los Angeles against the Lakers.
The Lakers and Mavericks are battling for positioning in the Western Conference, and Friday night was crucial for the Mavericks to avoid slipping in the standings and securing the head-to-head tiebreaker over Los Angeles.
They did just that as they defeated the Lakers 111-110 after a buzzer-beating three from Kleber.
Kleber scored the final six points for Dallas as he sunk three free throws and drilled the game-winning three on the following possession.
He went from having crucial clutch mistakes to being the hero for the Mavericks.
After this clutch shot, Kyrie Irving whispered something into Kleber's ear as he walked off the floor.
"That's redemption."
Irving was the one who found Kleber for the shot, and he encouraged his teammate after a rough stretch in the clutch just two nights before.
Kleber said that he never made a game-winner like that before and that the shot was one of his favorite moments.
Kleber and the Mavericks will look to stay hot and win their third-straight game on Monday evening as they battle the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum. The Grizzlies will be without Ja Morant. That is the first day that he is eligible to rejoin the team following his suspension.
Luka Doncic hopes to return for this game, but he is still listed as day-to-day. This game in Memphis will be one that you won't want to miss as the Grizzlies could be the Mavericks' opponent in the first round of the playoffs, depending on how the season finishes up.