Updated: May 18, 2011, 8:51 PM ET
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Are Mavs the Team to Beat?
Jim Rome and Jemele Hill discuss Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks chances to win the NBA Championship.
VIDEO PLAYLIST 
- Are Mavs the Team to Beat?
Are Mavs the Team to Beat?
Jim Rome and Jemele Hill discuss Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks chances to win the NBA Championship.
- Thunder-Mavericks Game 2 Preview
Thunder-Mavericks Game 2 Preview
The NBA Countdown Crew preview Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals between the Thunder and Mavericks.
- Is Dirk Unstoppable?
Is Dirk Unstoppable?
PTI hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon discuss how impressive Dirk Nowitzki was in game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
- NBA 411: May 18
NBA 411: May 18
Prim Siripipat with the latest NBA playoff buzz from the Mavericks and the Thunder
DALLAS -- Kendrick Perkins and Tyson Chandler can't even agree on whether there is bad blood between the big men.
According to the Dallas Mavericks' Chandler, there's no negative history between the two centers who were whistled for double technicals only 70 seconds into the series opener of the Western Conference finals.
?? -- Oklahoma City's Kendrick Perkins,
He don't like me, I don't like him and that's pretty much how it's been. Everybody always looks at me as kind of like a dirty player if you're on the opposite team, but he's just as dirty as anybody else.
on Dallas' Tyson Chandler
Oklahoma City 's Perkins has an opposing opinion about his rivalry with Chandler.
"Me and Tyson never got along. I'm serious," said Perkins, whom the Thunder acquired in a trade deadline deal with the Boston Celtics. "He don't like me, I don't like him and that's pretty much how it's been. Everybody always looks at me as kind of like a dirty player if you're on the opposite team, but he's just as dirty as anybody else."
The double technicals occurred after Perkins got in Chandler's face after a play. Chandler raised both arms in the air and said he did nothing to earn a T -- the NBA rescinded it on Wednesday -- but he understands that the officials wanted to make sure they kept control of the game.
"I have nothing against him," Chandler said of Perkins. "He won a championship with the Boston Celtics, and that's where I'm trying to take my team. I mean, I've got respect for him, what he was able to accomplish. But all the chippy stuff, the after-the-ball stuff, that's all nonsense and I'm not going to get involved with it."
The one thing the centers agreed on was that they wouldn't allow the intensity of their individual matchup to cause them to lose composure.
"Honestly, my motive is not to get into it with Kendrick Perkins," Chandler said. "My motive is to make my team better when I'm on the floor and give my team an opportunity to win. My team is not going to be better with me off the floor, so there's no reason for me to get into it with him. The only benefit that's going to have is me off the floor and giving them a better chance to win, so I'm not getting into it with him."
Added Perkins: "We're not going to get tossed, but we're going to play hard. I'm definitely going to play hard. I'm going to do whatever I need to do for my team to win. We both are going to come out here, we're going to compete and we'll go from there. We're going to keep banging."
Tim MacMahon covers the Mavericks for ESPNDallas.com.
Follow Tim MacMahon on Twitter: @espn_macmahon
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