[mavErika]

it's not over yet :

Updated: December 19, 2009, 12:57 AM ET
Cuban upset with officiating
Comment Email Print Share
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
Archive

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said after Friday's loss to Houston that the Mavericks will be filing an official protest with the league office because of at least three contentious calls during Dallas' 116-108 overtime defeat.

"We will definitely protest," Cuban said, "because we felt there were multiple misapplications of the rules."

The Mavericks contend the referees in charge -- Ken Mauer, Brian Forte and John Goble -- did not have the license to review a flagrant foul on Houston's Aaron Brooks in overtime that led to a technical foul being assessed to the Mavericks' Erick Dampier. Because it was Dampier's second technical, Dallas starting center was ejected with 1:01 to play in overtime and Houston leading by six points.

The Mavericks argued that the review, which resulted in an eight-minute delay, should not have taken place because Brooks was originally called for Flagrant Foul Penalty 1 as opposed to a Flagrant Foul Penalty 2.

Dallas likewise believes that the rules were misapplied in the final seconds of regulation when the officials declined to put more time back on the clock after reviewing a turnover by Brooks with the score tied at 100.

Dallas has 24 hours to formally file the protest, which costs $10,000.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4756296