"Rick Carlisle apologized for his errant kick of the basketball into the baseline seats early in the fourth quarter, a mishap that conked a young boy on the head.

The boy's father, by the way, said it was no-harm, no foul, which kept it in line with the rest of the night for the Mavericks.

Oh, they made plenty of other poor plays to help lose the game to Oklahoma City, but they also got no favors from the referee crew.

"It was an interesting night,'' said Shawn Marion . "He could try out for FIFA. He was right, though. It was an interesting game. It was emotional at times and Rick felt like he needed to make his presence felt."