Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith all criticized Dirk Nowitzki on Saturday night when he failed to respond after David West tapped him on the face several times, according to the Star-Telegram.

"You can't let a man put his hand on your face in the playoffs," Johnson said.

"I love Dirk Nowitzki," Barkley said. "Terrific, great player. But they're trying to say to you, 'We think you're soft.' That's what it means.... You've got to slap his hand down, and then you got to say, 'Hey, let that guy drive to the basket' and then you've got to knock the hell out of him."

The Mavericks seem to be happy that Dirk decided against retaliating.

"I love those guys, but they are living in 1998," Mark Cuban said. "In this year's NBA, you retaliate, you get suspended. That's happened to us too many times. The NBA saw it, and it's up to them to deal with it."

In the end Nowitzki was upset that a technical foul was even called on him, as he felt his restraint warranted a pass.