Truth be told, there is no evidence that anyone sustained a black eye, or any other sort of injury, during last night’s game between the Mavs and the Oklahoma City Thunder.  However, a few spectators did come awfully close after a frustrated Carlisle booted the ball into the front row at the American Airlines Center.

That act would earn Carlisle his second technical foul of the game, forcing him to take an early trip to the locker room, but not before apologizing to the fans who found themselves on the receiving end of his errant kick.

Check it out.

While some of you may say that this is typical Vince Carter, doing his best work when it doesn’t count, I’d argue that this is a big improvement for the 35-year-old veteran.  After all, many of us have grown accustomed to seeing him hit the deck in a heap of pain following even the softest of fouls, rather than providing us with a highlight reel behind-the-back shot like this one.

Check it out.

So what did Kobe have to say to Lamar?  Was he telling him he should have never left Los Angeles?  Was he asking Lamar how his wife, Khloe, is doing?  Or was he simply telling Lamar that he was going to help his team win the game, and there was nothing that he or any of his Mavericks teammates could do about it?

While this may still be a mystery, I am going to go on the assumption that Kobe was saying the latter to Odom, and seconds after he assisted on Derek Fisher’s game-winning three-pointer, Bryant gave a look back to Lamar as if to say, “I told you so.”

Truth be told, after spending the last seven years playing beside “the Black Mamba,” I’m sure Lamar was already well aware of the fact that Kobe would find a way to get it done in the dying seconds.  But he probably didn’t expect him to do so by passing up the shot.

Here is a look at what went down during the final seconds of last night’s game between the Lakers and the Mavs.

The NBA journeyman who had been criticized many times for his lack of toughness and effort, was showing some toughness when he and Serge Ibaka engaged in a heated altercation during last night’s game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks.  It’s just too bad that Carter’s act of toughness came with half-a-dozen players and officials standing between him and the Thunder’s power forward.

Carter would also hit a late three-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining to put the Mavs up by one.  But he would eventually be outdone by Kevin Durant. whose buzzer-beating three-pointer would give the Thunder the 104-102 victory.

Here is a look at Carter and Ibaka’s altercation, as well as the wild ending to last night’s game at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

After dropping off gifts at the houses of millions of children around the world, Santa Claus decided to drop in on the Christmas Day game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat.  While seated just a few rows up behind the basket (Santa can get great seats to any game), Father Christmas took the opportunity to yell at LeBron James while the Miami Heat superstar was shooting free-throws.

Apparently, Santa forgot to bring LeBron the championship ring he asked for last season, but if Sunday’s performance was any indication, that ring could be replacing the coal in James’ stocking six months from now.

Hey Deshawn!  Tell me how that prison food tastes!

Those may very well be the words on LeBron James’ mind after hearing that DeShawn Stevenson of the Dallas Mavericks has been arrested for public intoxication.  Two days after the Mavericks won the NBA Championship by defeating the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the Finals, police were called to the Grand Venetian apartment complex in Irving, Texas at 10:30 pm, as a drunk, disoriented Stevenson stumbled around.

Stevenson, who was so drunk he didn’t know where he was at the time, was arrested without incident on a Class C misdemeanor charge for public intoxication.  He was released the following morning on $475 bond.

We remain unaware as to whether Stevenson was wearing his “Hey LeBron! How’s my Dirk Taste” t-shirt at the time of his arrest.

Hat Tip – [NBC Dallas-Fort Worth]

After sipping away at as many Ace of Spades Champagne bottles as he could get his hands on at Miami’s Club LIV, Dirk Nowitzki and the rest of the Mavericks players returned to Dallas where the party continued.  Among the stops on their list of party destinations was The Loon, where several of the players, fans, and even owner Mark Cuban embraced one another and sang to the tune of Queen’s “We Are The Champions.”

I guess it was only a matter of time before we posted a video of the NBA Champions singing the unofficial song of champions.  Here it is.

Between all the celebratory chugs of beer, champagne and whatever other alcoholic beverage Mark Cuban could get his hands on, I guess it is only natural that the owner of the Dallas Mavericks would have to eventually take a washroom break.

He did, and thankfully someone was there with a camera to capture this private moment.  Make sure you don’t splash any on the trophy Mark!

I don’t get it.  I mean, it is one thing to change your favorite sports team.  Every kid seems to do it at some point in their life.  But at least do it at the beginning of the season, and only if your original “favorite team” is terrible and stands no chance at even making the playoffs.  Not after the NBA Finals has already been determined and there are only two teams left to choose from!

When picking a team to root for in the Finals, the decision should have been a simple one for this kid.  Root for the Mavs!  F*ck LeBron, Wade and Bosh.

Poor kid.  He seems so confused, but at least he isn’t this chick!

Hat Tip – [Buzz Feed]

When Dirk Nowitzki made LeBron James and Dwyane Wade eat his sh*t their words by leading the Mavs to a victory in Game 5 after the Heat duo mocked his apparent Game 4 “flu,” we asked them to “tell us how Dirk’s ass tastes?”

After winning Game 6 last night and capturing the 2011 NBA Championship title, the Dallas Mavericks’ DeShawn Stevenson had a similar question of his own to ask:

“Hey LeBron!  How’s My Dirk Taste?”

That was the question written on the shirt Stevenson decided to don following the Mavs’ 105-95 victory in Game 6 last night.  After leaving American Airlines Arena, the Mavs decided to hit up Miami’s Club LIV where the party continued and Dirk proceeded to chug from an $80,000 bottle of Ace of Spades Champagne.

As for LeBron, he went home heartbroken.  If a finals loss and his girlfriend’s possible affair with Rashard Lewis weren’t enough, he now has Stevenson’s shirt to think about.  The only thing that could make life worse for LeBron at the moment was if we could somehow get Delonte West into the studio to begin recording “Hey LeBron! How’s My Dirk Taste?”

Hat Tip – [CBS Sports & ESPN]