San Antonio Spurs Sued By Larry McGuinness, Miami Lawyer, For Resting Stars In Miami Heat Game (VIDEO)

He paid to see stars, not subs.

Miami lawyer Larry McGuinness is suing the San Antonio Spurs for withholding top players in a Nov. 29 game against the Miami Heat in Miami, ESPN reports.

McGuinness' class action claims he paid a premium price for tickets to see the high-profile visiting team and its well-known nucleus of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili (plus Danny Green), but that the players' secretly planned absence was deceptive and violated fair trade law.

"It was like going to Morton's Steakhouse and paying $63 for porterhouse and they bring out cube steak," McGuinness told the sports network.

Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich was fined $250,000 by the National Basketball Assocation for sending the players home to rest without the league's knowledge.

Despite playing short-handed in the nationally televised matchup, the Spurs nearly won the game, the Miami Herald pointed out in an earlier report. NBA Commissioner David Stern had apologized to fans and reprimanded the team for the decision.

USA Today columnist Sam Amick wrote that if it were late in the season and the Spurs had wrapped up a playoff berth, perhaps they would have had an excuse. "But not in late November, and definitely not in a TNT game that is the basketball equivalent of a Sunday afternoon showdown in the NFL," he said.

The Spurs did not respond to an ESPN request for comment. The class-action claim was filed in Miami-Dade County.

In the realm of fan-vs.-team litigation, this one perhaps carries more weight than a recent case in which a Buffalo Bills fan sued the team for sending him too many texts.