Smith believes Mavs should stop making excuses

DALLAS -- Houston Rockets forward Josh Smith is apparently sick and tired of complaints by the Dallas Mavericks about the physical nature of this best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

“At some point you got to stop making excuses,’’ Smith told Houston TV station KRIV. “The postseason is a very physical game.

“We're just playing basketball that's all. Sometimes you have to say touche instead of always coming up with a lot of excuses.’’

As a footnote, the NBA fined Mavs coach Rick Carlisle $25,000 on Saturday for his public critical comments of the officials who refereed Friday’s Game 3, which the Rockets won 130-128.

This story was originally published April 25, 2015 at 6:47 PM with the headline "Smith believes Mavs should stop making excuses."