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Cuban Denies Calling Martin 'a Punk'

May 11, 2009 – 4:44 PM
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Ariel Helwani

Ariel Helwani %BloggerTitle%

Tempers were flying high following the Denver Nuggets' Game 3 victory on Saturday in Dallas.

While cameras caught Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, shoving a cameraman after the buzzer sounded, Cuban is denying a Denver Post report claiming he approached Nuggets' forward Kenyon Martin's mother, Lydia Moore, after the game and said, "Your son is a punk."

FanHouse contacted Cuban via e-mail on Monday and asked if he ever said that to Moore. "Absolutely not," Cuban replied.

Martin's agent, Brian Dyke, told the Denver newspaper that Cuban did in fact say that to Martin's mother.

Martin is convinced Cuban approached his mother unprovoked, and is reportedly not happy about it.
"Don't say nothing to my kids or my family," Martin said, according to The Post. "If you got something to say, say it to me. But I'm going to take care of it. I'm not going to do the whole media thing, back and forth. That's his thing. I'm more of a face-to-face type of dude."

"So whenever the opportunity presents itself, then I will address it. But I got a game to go win. At some point I will, but I got a game to go win, first and foremost. So that's my focus and concentration right now."
Cuban did admit to the Denver Post on Sunday that he said to Martin's mother, "That includes your son," when a fan screamed about the Nuggets being "thugs."

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    Jay Triano smiles at a news conference in Toronto on Monday, May 11, 2009. Triano signed a three-year contract Monday to coach the Toronto Raptors, dropping the interim tag after taking over the team during the season. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Chris Young)

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Of course, Cuban was fuming over the fact that no whistle was blown after it appeared as though Mavs guard Antoine Wright had deliberately tried to foul Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony with seconds remaining in the game. Some NBA analysts have suggested that the reason no foul was called was because Wright lifted both his hands after hitting Anthony, a reaction most players do to show they haven't touched an opposing player.

"They are wrong," Cuban replied when asked about the foul in question. "Any offensive player will tell you that in that situation, when you feel the foul, or feel it coming, you start in a shooting motion. So Wright risked having a shooting foul with three shots being called."

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