Dirk Nowitzki has all but acknowledged that Mark Cuban's antics are a distraction to the Mavericks, saying that the team's owner must "learn to control himself as well as the players do."

In a stories posted Friday night on the Web sites of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and The Dallas Morning News, Nowitzki was quoted as saying, "We can't lose our temper all the time on the court or off the court, and I think he's got to learn that, too. He's got to improve in that area and not yell at the officials the whole game."