Dirk Nowitzki Gets His Jaw Tapped

On Saturday, during the New Orleans Hornets' 104-92 win over the Dallas Mavericks in game one of their first-round playoff series, four-year NBA veteran David West tested the manhood of nine-year vet Dirk Nowitzki. After a whistle had been blown, the Hornets' power forward'displeased with receiving an inadvertent elbow to his lip from a man who listens to David Hasselhoff'walked up to the Mavericks' seven-time All-Star and All-NBA superstar and had a few words with him. Then West finger banged his face before referees separated them.

Publicly disrespected by a relative nobody, Nowitzki did nothing, which lead former pros Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley to suggest that it made him look soft. Maybe he is soft. Or maybe the big German recognized that his value to his team is much higher than West's and that retaliation might get him suspended and cost his team the series. Or maybe he's on some Wayne/Juelz shit and just couldn't feel his face. Decide for yourself after the jump, where some pimp-slap-happy sportscasters review the incident.