It wasn't what Josh Howard got that ticked off the Mavericks.

It's what Brad Miller didn't get.

That Howard on Friday was suspended by the NBA for the first two regular-season games wasn't all that surprising. The Mavericks knew it was going to be at least one, and the league ruled Howard's forearm to the back of Miller's neck warranted two games without pay.

But Miller got away without any further punishment than the flagrant foul, penalty one, he was called for when he shoved Devin Harris to the court Tuesday, when the Mavericks beat Sacramento, 101-99, in Las Cruces, N.M.

Howard's reaction to the decision reflected the shock of his teammates and the coach.

"I didn't understand why he didn't get a suspension or a fine," Howard said of Miller. "But we know how that goes. I'm just going to turn the page and get ready for the first game of the season, which will be Sacramento."

Howard will sit out Oct. 31 at Cleveland and Nov. 2 at Atlanta. The Mavericks' home opener should be a little juicier for the fans – Miller and the Kings will be the opponent.

And, by the way, Howard said he would do it all again, even knowing how the NBA judges ruled.

"I had to do what I had to do to protect my teammate," he said. "I knew something was going to happen. I was prepared to take what was given to me.

"It's amazing [Miller] didn't get any kind of suspension or fine for what he did."

The suspension for Howard, who earns $9 million this season, will cost him $81,818.18 per game. Each game missed during a suspension costs a player 1/110th of his salary.

The incident occurred when Miller and Mavericks rookie Nick Fazekas got tangled on a rebound. Miller became frustrated and looked for the nearest Maverick, which happened to be Harris.

Harris has run into hard picks set by Miller on many occasions. This time, Miller shoved Harris to the court. He hit the deck hard, then popped up to confront Miller.

That's when Howard intervened, running from beyond midcourt to aid Harris.

"That was a pretty emotional moment for Josh," coach Avery Johnson said. "A 7-foot, 260-pound guy pushing down a 6-2, 160-pound point guard, that's a pretty tough spot to be in.

"[I'm] very disappointed from the standpoint that I wouldn't have thought it would be more than one game. But there's no appeals process. We understand them not wanting things to escalate. But I thought it would be a maximum of one game. And, on top of that, for Miller not to get suspended for a game, it makes no sense."

Stu Jackson, the NBA's senior vice president for operations, defended his decision not to upgrade the flagrant foul-one penalty on Miller.

"It was our determination that the penalty of an FFP-1 assessed at the game was appropriate," Jackson said.

Not from the Mavericks' vantage point.

"We are kind of saddened by the fact that it is two games when, really, we feel the other guy pretty much instigated everything," Jerry Stackhouse said.

AP

Dallas Mavericks forward Josh Howard will miss the first two games of the regular season.

The suspension will be a blow during those first two games. But the long-term result might be more beneficial than detrimental, owner Mark Cuban said.

"Avery asked Josh to show some leadership, and Josh has his style of approaching the game," Cuban said during a break from rehearsals for the next episode of Dancing With the Stars. "The bad news is that Josh is suspended for two games. The good news is that nobody's ever going to call the Mavs soft again. I think we're proving to people that that's a label that left the building a long time ago."

Cuban said he was surprised Miller didn't get some sort of punishment "considering the history with Devin. It seems like every time we play those guys, Brad Miller somehow finds a way to accidentally put Devin on his butt."