NBA L2M: Donovan Mitchell Committed Lane Violation Before Cavs' Game-Winner vs. Nets

The NBA's Last Two Minute Report for the Cleveland Cavaliers' 116-114 road win over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday revealed that Cavs shooting guard Donovan Mitchell committed a lane violation prior to Isaac Okoro's game-winning three-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining.

With the Cavs down 114-112, Mitchell went to the free-throw line for two shots after a Spencer Dinwiddie foul. He made the first but fell short on the second.

Mitchell then entered the lane before the ball hit the front rim, which is a violation. The referees did not make the call, however, and Mitchell got the offensive rebound. Mitchell missed two putback attempts, and the loose ball eventually found its way to Caris LeVert, who found Okoro for the game-winning three-pointer from the corner.

Nets forward Mikal Bridges then missed a three-pointer at the buzzer, and the Cavs escaped with their third straight win to move to 47-28, good enough for fourth in the Eastern Conference. The 39-34 Nets lost their fifth straight and dropped to seventh in the East.

This was a huge loss for the Nets, who are fighting for a top-six spot in the Eastern Conference to avoid testing their playoff fate in the play-in tournament.

They aren't in imminent danger of falling below the play-in threshold entirely with the 33-40 Pacers on the outside looking in at 11th and six games behind Brooklyn, but the sixth-place Heat have won seven of 10 to jump over the Nets.

Ultimately, the Nets put themselves in a dangerous position after holding a 104-94 lead midway through the fourth and a 112-104 edge with under two minutes remaining.

But the Cavs ended the game on a 12-2 run that began with a pair of LeVert free throws following a Nic Claxton shooting foul.

The Nets were on the wrong end of an erroneous referee decision there as well, per the Last Two Minute Report, which stated that Claxton only made "incidental contact" with LeVert and should not have gotten the whistle.

Brooklyn can move back into sixth Saturday when it hosts Miami at 8 p.m. ET.