Differentiating losses in the NBA is pointless, but everybody likes to talk about whether a loss was “bad” or “regrettable” or “unforgiveable.”
Whatever you call it, you still lose. Just because one is quick and painful, that doesn’t make any easier to take than a slow and agonizing defeat.
So when Max Strus went kaboom from 59 feet at the buzzer Tuesday night, the Mavericks felt the zap of a lightning bolt. It was over and done with in a hurry.
From this view, Tuesday’s heartbreaker was not an unforgiveable loss.