Wade drove to the basket, turned his back to the rim and jammed the basketball with 4:29 left in the first quarter, a spectacular dunk. But Nies, the NBA's oldest referee, whistled Wade for an unsportsmanlike technical foul, ruling that Wade had hung on the rim excessively.

Wade stared at Nies in disbelief, and television replays seemed to show that Wade released the rim rather quickly.

In fact, Wade's hold on the rim was probably only the third-longest of the first quarter. Just a few minutes later, Heat forward Udonis Haslem grabbed the rim for a longer time than Wade had. On the next trip down the floor, Dallas forward Josh Howard did, too - and the AmericanAirlines Arena crowd, not to mention Heat coach Pat Riley, demanded a technical foul on Howard. But Nies was unmoved.

Stand at attention

Dallas owner Mark Cuban is one of the founders of the Fallen Patriot Fund, which provides money - more than $1 million so far - to families of American troops killed or wounded overseas. Yet the owner had nothing to do with his team adopting the teamwide custom of standing at attention, with hands over hearts, during the playing of the national anthem.

The habit caught the attention of Jerry Sloan when the Jazz visited Dallas in January, and the Utah coach interpreted it as a reflection of a well-coached team.

"It was interesting just to see them line up for the national anthem. It's very impressive," Sloan said at the time. "I don't mean that facetiously. I think that's a terrific start, when you have a team and you have control of it. The way he [Avery Johnson] coaches that team, I think it's terrific."

So does Cuban, who credits former Mavs guard Michael Finley for beginning the custom as a show of team unity during the playoffs last season.

"It was one of my proudest moments as owner of the Mavs," Cuban wrote in his online blog. "With all the diversity of backgrounds and opinions, everyone used the moment as a sign of respect. It was great to be part of it."

Mum's the word

Riley said he doesn't condone center Shaquille O'Neal's refusal to speak to the media after his dismal five-point performance Sunday.

"I don't like it. We have to abide by what the league rules are," Riley said of O'Neal's snub.

The NBA fined O'Neal $10,000 for his refusal to be interviewed, and docked the Heat $25,000 for not making him available.

Briefly

AmericanAirlines Arena is mostly surrounded by empty lots, a run-down park and, just three blocks away, a crumbling Miami Arena, the team's former home. But the decrepit area isn't exactly worthless. A sign posted at the vacant lot directly across Biscayne Bay Boulevard from the arena Tuesday read: Parking - $80. The lot appeared nearly full 20 minutes before tipoff. . . . Among the celebrities in the crowd: NBA great Julius Erving, former Heat guard Tim Hardaway, and tennis model Anna Kournikova.

pmiller@sltrib.com