Mavs owner proves he's no shooting star - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

kriD · 04-15-2007, 06:25 AM

Mavs owner proves he's no shooting star

By KELLY MORRIS
SPECIAL TO THE STAR-TELEGRAM

DALLAS -- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is used to dishing out words to his team's players as he sits courtside at their games, but the tables were turned Saturday, when Cuban and select entertainers took part in the first All-Star Celebrity Slam Jam at SMU's Moody Coliseum.

Some Mavs players did the watching as Cuban played 22 minutes of the 40-minute game in front of a rowdy sellout crowd. To honor Jason Terry, who was in attendance, Cuban wore white socks up to his knees, and instead of a number on his blue Mavs jersey, there was a rather appropriate dollar sign.

"The players were yelling to me the same things I yell to them during the game," said Cuban afterward. "Conditioning was definitely an issue. I played a lot more minutes than I expected. I wanted to win and not embarrass myself."

Cuban didn't win -- his Blue Mavs lost 70-61 to the Green Mavs -- but he did manage to overcome a rocky start to avoid embarrassment. The Blue Mavs faced a 7-0 deficit before Glory Road actor Damaine Radcliff (25 points) scored the team's first basket with almost 3 minutes gone in the game. Cuban's first shot attempt was an air ball, which started a loud "air ball" chant from the crowd.

Cuban made 1 of 4 shots from the floor for two points and picked up five rebounds.

"I played like someone who was twice as old as everybody else out there," Cuban said.

The Blue Mavs' rally late in the first quarter would have made Mavs coach Avery Johnson proud, though. The team, which also included Scrubs star Donald Faison and actor Bill Bellamy, went on a 13-6 run to tie the game at 19-19 at the end of the first quarter. Johnson sat just to the right of the basket.

Mavs Man and the Mavs ManiAACs entertained the crowd during timeouts, and rapper Chris Brown, who scored 20 points for the Green Mavs, managed to draw the loudest cheers from the crowd, even more than when Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard were introduced.

Proceeds from the event benefited the Mavs Foundation and Heroes Basketball Foundation, youth charities.

Cousins Adrian and Alex Casillas, ages 12 and 9, respectively, hoped to get Devin Harris' autograph after the game and both agreed Cuban isn't the best basketball player.

"Cuban isn't that good. He should stick to being the owner," said Adrian, who lives in Keller. "We're having lots of fun. My throat is kind of sore because I've been cheering so much."