George Karl has told Mavericks' owner Mark Cuban to stay away from his players after Cuban came onto the court to display his outrage towards Nugget J.R. Smith on Tuesday night, the Denver Post is reporting.

Near the end of the second quarter, Smith threw an elbow in the direction of Maverick Antoine Wright, causing Cuban to come onto the court to yell at Smith.

"I have no problem with him judging that that was a play that should be sent to the league office. But stay away from my players, stay off the court," Karl said after Wednesday's practice. "I think Cuban's going off on something that happens almost every game. There was no contact; it wasn't even close. It was more of a trash talking, he-hit-me-and-I'm-not-stepping-down. But nothing happened."

"If this is a normal fan," Karl said, "he might have been banned from the building. And from my standpoint, when the game starts, he's a fan. And after the game, he's an owner."