NEW YORK – The National Basketball Association announced today that Commissioner David Stern has denied the Dallas Mavericks’ protest of their 116-108 loss to the Houston Rockets on December 18.

In the protest, the Mavericks argued that the referees, following an instant replay review, improperly called a technical foul on Erick Dampier with 1:01 remaining in overtime, which – as his second technical foul – resulted in his ejection from the game.

Commissioner Stern determined that the referees’ decision to assess a technical foul on Dampier was a judgment call, and not a misapplication of the playing rules, which cannot successfully be protested under NBA rules.