Mavericks' Carlisle: 'This series has got to be played within the rules'

The Dallas Mavericks were not happy with the whistle they received from the officials during Friday's Game 3 loss to the Houston Rockets.

Reporters caught up with a furious Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle after the loss.

"Look, referees miss calls, but there's just a lot of physical stuff going on out there that just doesn't look kosher to me," Carlisle told Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas. "They're a more physical team, but this series has got to be played within the rules."

There was one play in particular that stuck in Carlisle's craw.

We're scrambling like hell defensively and Devin Harris is going to get the ball, and Dwight Howard throws him into our bench.

He takes the ball, skips it over the top and Trevor Ariza gets a wide-open 3. So instead of us getting the ball and a foul on Howard, it turns into essentially a five- (or) six-point swing.

That stuff's got to stop. The officials got to get that stuff under control, because there's too much physical stuff going on. Howard is throwing people all over the place, and that can't happen in Game 4.

When asked about the play in question, a bemused Dwight Howard played it off. 

"It's a long series, and my job is to be dominant in the paint and just do my best," Howard said. "I don't think about it when I'm out there. I just go out there and play."

Howard went on to finish with 26 rebounds and Harden dropped 42 in the win. Both teams where whistled for 28 personal fouls and the Mavericks actually held a 34-28 advantage in terms of free-throw attempts.