For the second time in his team’s first-round series against the Thunder, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle complained about the way the game was being played.
Carlisle was asked about the physical play in the series following his team’s 102-99 Game 2 loss in Oklahoma City. He slipped some profanity into his response.
“It’s playoff basketball — it’s physical. We don’t like the cheap shots when they give ’em, and they don’t like ’em if we give em. That’s the nature of competition,” Carlisle said. “I love hard play, clean, competitive playoff series. You throw the ball up and may the best team win. But the dirty bulls***? It’s gotta stop. We don’t want anybody getting hurt out there.”
Carlisle was referring to a play in the first quarter when Dirk Nowitzki and Kendrick Perkins mixed it up and received double technicals. Carlisle even got involved and came onto the floor. But voicing his opinion about the physical nature of a series is nothing new for him; he’s doing it to get the officials in his favor.
