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Mayo was upset that Cousins caught him with a shot to the groin area in the second quarter of the Kings' loss. Cousins said after the game and reiterated after practice Tuesday that he didn't do it on purpose. "In slow motion, it looks like I did it on purpose," Cousins said. "But you look in real speed, you see what happened. Of course it's gonna get thrown out there that I did it on purpose." Sacramento Bee

Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, OJ Mayo, DeMarcus Cousins 

Perhaps Mayo never heard Cousins' explanation, but that didn't stop Mayo from saying Cousins is a "garbage player" when he resorts to such tactics. "I heard," Cousins said. "This coming from a guy that doesn't have a great image himself. So what does his really mean? I'm fine with it." Sacramento Bee

Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, OJ Mayo, DeMarcus Cousins 

Dwain Price: "OJ (Mayo) is his own guy, and he’ll hopefully be here longer than (Jason Terry) and make his mark in the same way.'' -- Mark Cuban Twitter @DwainPrice

Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo, Mark Cuban, Jason Terry 

Ben Rohrbach: Also, JET on Mayo: "Always been a great talent, but there’s been questions about his work ethic. Obviously, this year he’s put the work in." Twitter @brohrbach

Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo, Jason Terry 

With 3:25 left in the second quarter of the Mavericks’ 119-96 victory over Sacramento, Kings center DeMarcus Cousins delivered what replays showed to be a back-hand, closed-fist punch to O.J. Mayo’s groin. The incident occured while the two were fighting for position. Cousins and Mayo were whistled for a double-technical foul for jawing at one another following the blow. “I told him, ‘Man, play basketball,’ ” Mayo said. “ ’You’ve got a chance to be a good player, but when you do stuff like that, you’re like a garbage player. It’s not a sign of being great.’” Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, OJ Mayo, DeMarcus Cousins 

“Man, that guy has mental issues,” Mayo said. “He’s a talented player. He has an opportunity to be the face of the organization, but I don’t think he wants it.” Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, OJ Mayo, DeMarcus Cousins 

Mayo said he asked the referees to review the incident on videotape during halftime. Mayo said he has little doubt it’s a fine-able or suspendable offense. “Big maturity problem,” Mayo said of Cousins. “Hopefully he’ll grow out of it and become great. He definitely has the talent.” Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, OJ Mayo, DeMarcus Cousins 

With Dirk Nowitzki still on the mend from knee surgery, O.J. Mayo has been driving the Mavericks offense all season. So it wasn’t as if dropping 40 on the heads of the Rockets Saturday night was a revelation. “What he’s showing over the first 20 games is he has the ability to carry a team at times,” said coach Rick Carlisle. “He’s showing a strong-willed mentality and he’s really hungry to win.” NBA.com

Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo 

“O.J. [Mayo] is definitely on the kind of roll where he’s putting the team on his back,” said Derek Fisher. “He’s playing at an unbelievable level. It sounds simple, but I think O.J. just wants to win.” NBA.com

Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo 

Mayo popped Phoenix for 23 points, including a 20-foot jumper with 34.6 seconds left that put the Mavericks in front for good 89-87. They went on to win 97-94. Mayo said after the game that talks with the Suns were serious, but in the end, he knew there would be a more prominent role for him with the Mavericks. “We just couldn’t put anything together,” Mayo said of Phoenix. “I understand what they were thinking. It was business.” Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo 

Nobody talks about it openly, but the departure of guard O.J. Mayo has made the Grizzlies’ offense and locker room happier places. For four seasons, Mayo could never find a comfortable or effective place as a starter or reserve. He also made the locker room a cliquish place that often froze out Gay and made it tougher for Conley to be the unifying quarterback and leader. NBA.com

Memphis Grizzlies, OJ Mayo 

The Bulls had numerous trade discussions regarding Mayo, including in February 2011, when league sources told the Tribune the Grizzlies turned down an offer of Ronnie Brewer and draft picks. "Tremendous," coach Tom Thibodeau said when asked to assess Mayo's start. "I always felt he played very effectively in whatever minutes he has gotten. When he has started, he has played extremely well. And when he came off the bench, he played extremely well. Few guys can do that, but he's one that can. "I always thought he put a lot of pressure on your defense. And he knows how to make plays. He's not afraid. He has courage." Chicago Tribune

Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo, Tom Thibodeau 

Earl K. Sneed: Rick Carlisle says O.J. Mayo turned his left ankle yesterday in practice but he did participate today for the most part. Twitter @EKS_MavsNBA

Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo, Injuries 

The five players scoring at a higher clip than Mayo -- Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Anthony and James Harden -- all have long-term deals that pay them well into eight figures per season. “I don’t want to talk him up too much because I don’t want him to opt out next year,” Cuban kidded before the game, a comment that made Mayo laugh heartily when it was relayed to him later. ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo 

Geoff Calkins: (Chris) Wallace isn't perfect, of course. If he had listened to Tony Barone Sr., he wouldn't have traded Kevin Love for O.J. Mayo. Twitter @geoff_calkins

Memphis Grizzlies, Trade, OJ Mayo, Kevin Love, Chris Wallace, Tony Barone 

Dwain Price: #Mavs guard OJ Mayo on teammate Delonte West: “I'm pretty sure guys will give D-West a call and make sure all is well.’’ Twitter @DwainPrice

Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo, Delonte West 

Dallas Mavericks guard OJ Mayo went to bat for teammate Delonte West, who was suspended Monday by coach Rick Carlisle for "conduct detrimental to the team.'' "I've never really hung with him or anything,'' Mayo said this afternoon. "He’s a great dude. You hear stories about all of us. "They say I’m the next thing to a killer. So it is what it is. Perception and reputation is everything, but D-West is great in the locker room. He’s helped me a lot this season.' Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, OJ Mayo, Delonte West 

Earl K. Sneed: O.J. Mayo: "D-West is a great guy and he's helped me out a lot this season." Twitter @EKS_MavsNBA

Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, OJ Mayo, Delonte West 

O.J. Mayo was trying to traverse some stairs in Barcelona during the Mavericks’ European trip and, like just about everybody else who is out sightseeing, he wasn’t paying attention to the steps. “It was a big spill,” he said. “I was talking and missed one [step]. I had stuff in my hand and took a big spill. I went all out, scraped my elbow, too.” The result was a nasty oval of skin that was sheared off of his right palm and a big scrape of skin on his left arm, just below the elbow. The left arm is fine. And really, so is the palm. But because it’s Mayo’s shooting hand, it’s kept him from being able to do what he usually does, which is make baskets. The nasty gash makes not only shooting the ball, but catching it, difficult. Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo, Injuries 

O.J. Mayo sat out the Dallas Mavericks' intrasquad scrimmage Saturday night because of a cut on his shooting hand sustained in a freak accident during the team's trip to Europe. "He slipped on some steps and fell down and actually took a big chunk of skin off of his hand," coach Rick Carlisle said on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM. "Ninety- eight out of a hundred NBA players wouldn't have played in the Barcelona game, but he wanted to play. He struggled shooting the ball, and I think that was the reason." ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, OJ Mayo, Injuries