Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle asks Thunder to cut the 'cheap,' 'dirty' play

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, after Dallas lost in Oklahoma City, 102-99, Tuesday night, accused the Thunder of ‘cheap’ and ‘dirty’ play. The Thunder lead the first-round playoff series, 2-0. Game 3 is Thursday night in Dallas.

Game 2 on Monday night was chippy. About midway through the first quarter, Thunder forward Serge Ibaka hit Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki in the face on a Nowitzki shot attempt. No foul was called, and Nowitzki shoved Ibaka on the way back down the court. A few possessions later, center Kendrick Perkins and Nowitzki were each handed technical fouls after an exchange of pleasantries. Perkins was called for a loose ball foul for giving Nowitzki a forearm to the back, and Nowitzki then turned around and laid his shoulder into Perkins’ chest. Perkins then shoved back.

Said Nowitzki, "That play was nothing. He tried to bully me and I bullied back a little bit. We talked about some stuff and moved on. I don't think that play was anything special. It's just the playoffs, two teams going at it. It was just a hard play."

"It's playoff basketball. It's physical," Carlisle said, according to ESPNDallas.com. "I mean, we don't like the cheap shots when they give them, and they don't like them if we give them. That's the nature of competition.

"Hey, I love hard play, clean, competitive playoff series. You throw the ball up and may the best team win, but the dirty bull---- has got to stop. We don't want anybody getting hurt out there either way."

"It's just playoff basketball," Perkins said. "I mean, just grown men out here playing basketball and teams trying to advance. You know, you're just out here playing. There's nothing to hurt nobody or nothing like that. Neither side is going to bow down. They're not, we're not, so we're just out here playing and competing on a high level."

Carlisle’s complaints actually started after Saturday's Game 1, and Thunder coach Scott Brooks told reporters that they should have seen them coming.

“Just go back to your quotes in 2011. He said the same thing then,” Brooks said, per The Oklahoman.

Carlisle responded, “If there’s been a memo issued saying that if you elbow a guy in the throat it’s legal, I would appreciate that memo being passed along.”

Carlisle and Brooks were roommates when they played in the CBA together.

The first two games of the series have been close, with Oklahoma City squeaking