Dirk Nowitzki responded to joking references made by LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to his illness before Game 5.

"I just thought it was a little childish, a little ignorant," Nowitzki said before Saturday's practice at AmericanAirlines Arena. "I've been in this league for 13 years. I've never faked an injury or illness."

Wade, who referred to Nowitzki's sinus infection Thursday as "the fun-loving story of him being sick," claimed Saturday that he didn't pretend to cough.

"I actually did cough," Wade said. "And with the cameras being right there, we made a joke out of it because we knew you guys were going to blow it up. You did exactly what we knew.