Refs missed intentional foul, NBA admits DALLAS -- The NBA admitted officials were wrong when they didn't call an intentional foul the Dallas Mavericks were trying to commit before Denver's Carmelo Anthony made a game-winning 3-pointer Saturday night. Dallas had a two-point lead and a foul to give when Denver inbounded the ball with less than 8 seconds left. Antoine Wright was clearly trying to foul Anthony, and bumped him twice. But the whistle never blew and Anthony swished a 3-pointer from in front of the Dallas bench with a second left that gave the Nuggets a 106-105 victory and a 3-0 series lead. "At the end of the Dallas-Denver game this evening, the officials missed an intentional foul committed by Antoine Wright on Carmelo Anthony, just prior to Anthony's three-point basket," Joel Litvin, NBA president of league and basketball operations, said in a statement issued by the league about two hours after the game. In the aftermath of the scandal involving former referee Tim Donaghy, the NBA has begun publicly acknowledging certain officiating mistakes. Donaghy is serving a prison sentence for betting on games he officiated and taking cash payments from gambling associates for information to help them with bets. A day after Game 4 of the Western Conference finals last year, the NBA said a foul should have been called against Derek Fisher of the Los Angeles Lakers on the final possession. That could have given San Antonio a chance to win the game and get even in the series. Fisher jumped and came down on Brent Barry in the final seconds of a two-point game. No foul was called and Barry missed badly on a 3-pointer as time expired. Mark Wunderlich, one of the three officials for that game last year, was part of the crew for the Denver-Dallas game Saturday night and was the one closest to Wright and Anthony. "I'm almost as disappointed for Mark as I am for us. ... It's a call he makes 100 percent of the time," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said after Saturday's game. Added Wright: "I was positive a whistle was coming, just like everybody else was positive the whistle was coming. I made a play on the ball like I was told in the huddle, and the call wasn't made. ... I'm upset like everyone else in this locker room, and I feel like we have a right to be upset." DALLAS -- Antoine Wright had a simple objective. In a game with 61 fouls already called, he was trying to commit another. Wright bumped Carmelo Anthony once, hard enough to knock him off stride. But not enough for a foul call. So he jostled Anthony again. Still no call -- and now Wright was out of position, leaving Anthony a clear look at the basket. His 3-pointer went right through with a second left, giving the Denver Nuggets a 106-105 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, and a 3-0 series lead that has been insurmountable in NBA history. During the timeout before Anthony's winning shot, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle reminded his players they had a foul to give and told them to use it. Wright's attempt was good enough for the league office, but not for the crew. The official closest to the play was Mark Wunderlich, the same official who did not call a foul on Los Angeles' Derek Fisher at the end of Game 4 of last year's Western Conference finals. "What do you want me to do ... take him out and then I get a flagrant two late in the game?" Wright said. "I made a play on the ball like I was told in the huddle and the call wasn't made." Nuggets coach George Karl thought it was a great non-call. "It seemed like he fumbled the ball," Karl said. When time ran out, the crowd fell silent, the Nuggets began to celebrate and the Mavericks began to gripe. Big Trouble In Big 'D' History tells us the Nuggets are in great shape vs. the Mavs. In fact, no team in NBA history has ever lost a playoff series after taking a 3-0 lead. Here's a breakdown of the 86 previous 3-0 margins and how they ended: Teams Leading 3-0 Best-of-Seven Series, NBA History Finish Series Won 4-0 52 Won 4-1 25 Won 4-2 6 Won 4-3 3 Lost 4-3 0 Josh Howard was among several clusters of Dallas players who appeared to be exchanging words with Denver players and staff. Owner Mark Cuban brushed by a cameraman on his way to the scene, then blew off steam behind the scorer's table, his face reddening. He declined to comment later. "Officiating has to be a science, not an art," Carlisle said. "If I sit here and belabor this it's not going to be good for our league. It's one of those times where it's really an unfortunate thing." The Nuggets hold a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven series for the first time in franchise history and will go for the sweep Monday night. All sorts of things are in their favor, from the fact no NBA team up 3-0 has ever lost the series to their 7-0 record against the Mavericks this season. Denver also is the only team to win in Dallas since mid-February; the Nuggets are 2-0 in that span, everyone else 0-17. Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press