DALLAS - The locker room was empty, except for the hero and his 2-year-old, the father preparing to celebrate his historic shot, the son playing with Dad's diamond ring, oblivious to what just happened.
Someday, Kiyan Anthony will see what happened, perhaps, as his father suggested, in a commercial. In Denver's 106-105 dramatic and controversial victory against the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, Carmelo Anthony swished a 3-pointer with one second left, giving Denver a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
"Biggest shot of my life," Anthony said. "I don't get nervous; those are moments that I live for. Crunch time, we need a bucket, and I was going to make a play."
He made one of the biggest shots in Nuggets history, but one lathered in controversy. Two hours after the game, the NBA released a statement saying the play should never have happened because Dallas' Antoine Wright should have been called for a foul before the shot. Wright tried to foul Melo with around three seconds left and then stepped away, waiting for a foul call. Melo kept playing and had a clean look at his historic shot from the deep right wing.
Saturday night, the NBA's statement said: "The officials missed an intentional foul committed by Antoine Wright on the Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony, just prior to Anthony's 3-point basket."
The Mavericks had a foul to give, without putting Denver at the free- throw line, which is why Wright hit Anthony. The play began with 6.5 seconds left and Anthony dribbling near the top of the key. He lost control of the ball to his right, scooped it back up, then Wright hacked at him.
"Carmelo fumbled the ball and I hit him," Wright said.
Wright stepped back, waiting for a call that never came.
"Antoine was so sure that he fouled that he stopped (playing)," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said.
Said Nuggets coach George Karl: "I didn't see a foul."
After the game, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was volcanic, screaming obscenities near press row, even getting into a yelling match with Kenyon Martin's mom, who happened to be sitting nearby. Cuban was also seen shoving a cameraman.
After Melo's shot, Dallas got the ball with one second left, but Dirk Nowitzki, who scored a game-high 33 points, had time only for a desperation heave that fell far short.
The victory puts Denver in position to close out the series Monday night and advance to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 1985.
When Anthony's shot went in, there were cheers from Castle Rock to Fort Collins, but perhaps no one was more excited than Anthony Carter, the Nuggets guard who proclaimed that Anthony "saved my butt."
It was Carter, with 31.1 seconds remaining, who left Jason Terry open in the right corner. Nowitzki had the ball in the lane, and Carter left Terry to double-team Nowitzki, who passed it to Terry, who hit a 3-pointer for a 105-101 lead.
After a Denver timeout, Anthony zoomed into the lane for a dunk with 28.5 seconds left, cutting the lead to 105-103.
Karl instructed his team not to foul and gambled Dallas would not use all of the shot clock. Nowitzki complied, trying a difficult fadeaway near the free-throw line over Martin with 6.5 seconds left. Chauncey Billups rebounded, setting up Anthony's big moment.
"He's 'Mr. Clutch,"' said Billups, Denver's "Mr. Big Shot" who came up big himself with 23 second-half points and a team-high 32 points.
"He is really clutch, man. Even before I came here, I've seen him win a lot of games, late in games. Nicknames are not given. They're earned. And he is Mr. Clutch."
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com ----------------- Coming through in crunch time
A look at the final seconds of the Nuggets' Game 3 win:
0:31.1 Jason Terry's 3-pointer gives Dallas a 105-101 lead.
28.5 After calling a timeout, the Nuggets score quickly as Carmelo Anthony drives the lane for an uncontested dunk to pull the Nuggets within 105-103.
21.1 Dallas calls a timeout, and there is a four-second difference between the shot clock and the game clock. Denver coach George Karl tells his team not to foul.
7.9 Jason Kidd passes to Dirk Nowitzki, who, under heavy pressure from Kenyon Martin, launches a fadeaway jumper from near the free-throw line. Chauncey Billups rebounds the miss.
6.5 Nuggets call a timeout.
1.0 Martin inbounds to Anthony, who drives to the right side of the 3-point arc, nearly loses the ball, shakes off the defense of Antoine Wright, who tries to foul him, and hits a 3-pointer in front of the Mavericks' bench for a 106-105 lead with one second to play.
1.0 With one last try, Kidd inbounds to Nowitzki, who has to turn and shoot a 30-footer that falls short.
