"The Mavs are doing the same damn thing" - When Phil Jackson was fined $35,000 for slamming refs over Dirk Nowitzki's dirty plays

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a devastating upset playoff loss to Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.

It was one of the team’s most depressing defeats in franchise history, but it wasn’t the sweep that ticked Lakers head coach Phil Jackson off.

Instead, the Zen Master was livid about how the officials allowed Nowitzki and the Mavs to play dirty the entire series.

Jackson alleged ahead of Game 4 that Dirk had been using his knee to dislodge Pau Gasol on the post, which should be illegal.

Phil claimed that in the process, Gasol wasn’t able to post up effectively, which impacted the Lakers’ offense. Unfortunately for Jackson, there was nothing the NBA could do about it.

Even worse, Jackson was slapped with a $35,000 fine for publicly lashing out at the officials.

“You know, I’ve resisted this the whole playoffs, but the NBA used to call a knee [to the backside],” Jackson exclaimed at the time. “That’s what they call it. You couldn’t lift a knee off the floor to run a guy off the post. And they’re doing it every time. They’re taking him out of the post so we can’t get a tight post play.”

“We didn’t complain about it against New Orleans. But the Mavs are doing the same damn thing,” the legendary coach continued. “And until the league goes back to the rules that they have about playing post play, Pau’s got to move out and face the basket. So we’re kind of resigned that they’re not going to go back to what they used to have as a rule and he’s going to have to go out and face the hoop.”

Kobe said the Lakers faced a different Dirk

Gasol may have struggled to contribute to the Lakers’ offense in that series, but for Lakers star shooting guard Kobe Bryant, Nowitzki playing dirty wasn’t the main reason they lost to Dallas. Based on Bryant’s assessment, they just happened to cross paths with a new and improved Dirk that year.

Kobe acknowledged how much Dirk improved as an offensive player. In that series, Nowitzki averaged a series-high 25.5 points per game with remarkable efficiency of 57.4 percent from the field.

For Bryant, the Lakers played their hearts out, but they got beaten by the better team led by an incredible player.

“When Dirk won that championship that year, the biggest problem we had with him, that Miami and all the other teams had with him, wasn’t his picking and popping; it was his ability to play at the free-throw line and below the free-throw line. For him, that was his biggest growth as a player,” Bryant once weighed in.

It was Dirk’s year

Barring Coach Jackson’s accusations against him, Nowitzki had a nearly flawless year in 2011. Apart from upsetting the defending champions, Dirk and the Mavs made it back to the Finals that season.

Unsurprisingly, Nowitzki led the charge and fearlessly faced the Miami Heat’s big three. Just when everybody thought the Mavs wouldn’t stand a chance against the trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, Nowitzki and the Mavs beat the odds and closed the series out in six games to finally bring the championship to Dallas.

Nowitzki rightfully hoisted the NBA championship trophy and secured the Finals MVP award.

In retrospect, it was an emphatic championship run, but it’s safe to say Jackson wasn’t really happy about it.

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 13, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

“The Mavs are doing the same damn thing” – When Phil Jackson was fined $35,000 for slamming refs over Dirk Nowitzki’s dirty plays

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