By Paul Levine Jun 20, 2006, 23:16 GMT
Los Angeles - Outspoken Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was fined 250,000 dollars by the NBA on Tuesday for his outbursts following game five of the NBA Finals.
Cuban was cited for 'several acts of misconduct' after the Mavericks suffered a heart-breaking 101-100 overtime loss in Miami Monday night, giving the Heat a 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals.
The fine was announced hours before the Mavericks were to host the Heat in game six at the American Airlines Centre in an effort to stay alive in the best-of-seven series. Should they win, a decisive game seven is scheduled for Thursday night at Dallas.
Cuban was upset after reviewing tape of the final play, in which he believed game five hero Dwyane Wade committed a turnover when he caught an inbounds pass following a timeout to begin a possession. That play eventually led to the Heat star drawing a foul and making the game-winning free throws with 1.9 seconds remaining.
'My understanding from the rule book is, if you are going to catch the ball in the back court, you have to be in the back court to catch it,' Cuban told reporters in the locker room after the game. 'You can't be established in the front court and then be jumping in the back court. That's a violation.'
Replays showed Wade leaped near mid-court to catch the ball in the air, landing with possession in the back court.
However, the NBA rule book states that, 'status is not attained until a player with the ball has established a positive position in either half during a throw-in in the last two minutes of the fourth period and/or any overtime period.'
Naturally upset with calls that he felt went against the Mavericks, the Miami Herald reported Cuban went onto the floor after the game to vent at referee Joe DeRosa. He then stared down and screamed toward commissioner David Stern and a group of league officials, from the court, then the stands.
But Cuban, on his website, denied it ever happened.
'Apparently the Miami Herald is reporting I screamed at the NBA commissioner after the game the other night. It didn't happen,' he wrote. 'Didn't say a word to the man. Not a single word. And that was absolutely by intention.
'Apparently this 'reporter' has written he has several 'sources.' Well they must be the same sources the tabloids use to find two- headed babies and aliens, because it didn't happen,' Cuban said.
'I've already blogged about and been fined for the source of my displeasure in these playoffs, and there was absolutely no reason for me to say another word about it and I won't.'
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