NOTEBOOK \ NBA finals

No violation: The NBA said Tuesday there was no backcourt violation on the play that led to Dwyane Wade's winning free throws in Game 5 of the NBA finals. After the Miami Heat's 101-100 overtime victory over Dallas on Sunday night, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said an assistant coach showed him a tape that led his team to believe that Wade should have been called for a turnover when he caught an inbounds pass to begin the possession. "My understanding from the rule book is, if you are going to catch the ball in the backcourt, you have to be in the backcourt to catch it," Cuban said. Not true, according to Rule 4, Section VI. Replays showed that Wade leaped near midcourt to catch the ball in the air, landing with possession in the backcourt. Part of the rule states that, "frontcourt/backcourt status is not attained until a player with the ball has established a positive position in either half during a throw-in in the last two minutes of the fourth period and/or any overtime period." Because Wade was in the air when he caught the ball, league spokesman Tim Frank said his position wasn't determined until he landed. And since another rule allows for the ball to be thrown into the backcourt at that time, there was no violation.
Unhappy birthday: Dirk Nowitzki didn't exactly have a happy 28th birthday. "It was one of the worst birthdays ever," he said Tuesday. "Nothing to really celebrate." The big day was Monday, which began with his Dallas Mavericks coming off a 101-100 overtime loss to the Miami Heat that left them facing elimination. The team spent the night in Miami before flying home, but Nowitzki said he only slept about an hour. Upon arriving home, the NBA had a rude birthday greeting for him -- a $5,000 fine for kicking a ball into the stands at the end of the game. "The only good thing was that some of my family members were here, I was able to spend some time with them," Nowitzki said. "But I was still thinking about the game." He said the fine didn't bother him, and it's understandable why. Nowitzki makes around $14 million this season. That means he was fined the equivalent of $18 to someone making $50,000.
Heat mystery: It travels. Whatever "it" is. For the past couple weeks, the Miami Heat have had a round container in the middle of their home locker room floor, keeping it covered whenever the media is allowed into the area. Players and coach Pat Riley have refused to say what it is, except than to say it's some sort of motivational tool for the playoffs. "It's about us," Riley said earlier in this year's playoffs. "That's all." Now that the Heat have played their last home game of the year, the round thing -- think about the size of a kiddie pool, with something that appears to be a round trophy of some sort protruding from the middle -- accompanied Miami to Dallas for Game 6 of the NBA finals. It was set up, as usual, in the middle of their locker room.
Associated Press
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