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- 2011 NBA Champions, Dallas Mavericks
It was all about vindication. LeBron James was in the game of his life and he started off like he knew it. Making open shots and getting to the rim. Wade got into it too, slashing to the rim at will. Those two opened it up for Bosh, who made his jumpers. For Dallas, the man desperately in need of vindication, Dirk Nowitzki, picked up two early fouls and went to the bench with 5 minutes in the first with just one basket. And yet Dallas led by six at the end of the first. Then they pushed it to 40-28 with nine minutes left in the second.
How did Dallas hang in there? JJ Barea was on fire, sneaking in for layups and finding the open man. Then Terry came of the bench and was perfect for his first four shots. Then it was Stevenson, connecting from distance.
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Then early in the second quarter, Miami took a 42-40 lead and Dallas called time. And then a brawl ensued. As Stevenson walked off the court, he pushed off Haslem who was in his way and their teammates got into it as well, some trying to create separation, others escalating the situation, like Mario Chalmers. Those three players received technicals and their conduct will be reviewed by a committee.
Back to the game, Dirk Nowtizki got off to a horrendous start, making just one of twelve. And those were shots he normally makes. Tyson Chandler picked up his third foul with four minutes in the second, leading to Dallas going with a small lineup. Jason Terry was on the floor with two distributors, Kidd and Barea, and he shot his way to 17 first half points keeping Dallas in the game while Dirk was ice cold, prompting Van Gundy to jokingly deadpan “Dirk can’t get it going in big games”. Terry was 7 of 9 in the first half.
At one point James found Barea on him and the Miami crowd got loud anticipating a massacre. Instead Barea drew a charge on him. He may be undersized but he carries himself well on both ends. Despite that, it was curious to see the red hot Jason Terry on the bench to start the third and he didn’t get in until 4:45 mark. Curious from a fan, but doubtless Rick Carlisle knew what he was doing.
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The basketball gods were on Dallas’ side in the last minute of the third. With the shot clock winding down, Jason Kidd launched and converted a prayer from three point range. On the next and last possession of the quarter, Mahinmi, a little used inexperienced substitute for Dallas, hit a last second jumper. At this point, Dallas were 10 for 20 from three and Miami had missed eleven of their free throws.
Miami started the fourth quarter facing a full court press from Dallas. One thing the Mavericks have done all playoffs is throw different looks at their opponents on defense. They switch seamlessly from man to zone. One thing they couldn’t avoid in this game was foul trouble. Early in the fourth, both Chandler and Nowitzki had 4 fouls.
Some commentary gold:
On Barea coming in for a substitution:Jeff Van Gundy: Someone has to go out for Dallas.Mark Jackson: You’d think the custodian (Brian Cardinal) would know better.
Jeff Van Gundy: JJ Barea is listed at 6 feet, but he’s not.Mark Jackson: He’s grown every year and is now an integral part of this Dallas rotation.Jeff Van Gundy: Grown every year? I thought you meant grown taller. What did he start at? 5″2?
Mark Jackson: Great players are like death and taxes. (another catchphrase)________________________________________________________________________
Who would have expected Dallas to have the lead in the fourth with Dirk shooting the way he did? Barea and Terry stepped up big to keep Dallas in it. And we knew Dirk would not continue to miss as he pushed it to 10. Then Dallas got two second chance opportunities, an offensive rebound and a turnover from Miami after a rebound bounced out of bounds off of James. And Dirk made another off balance fadeaway. He had ten points in the fourth quarter.
For the game, Dirk shot 9-27 and Terry was 11-16. Barea added 15 points, shooting 7-12. LeBron had 21 points on 9-15 shooting. Dwyane Wade added 16 but he shot 6-16. Bosh was the most efficient one of the Heat, 19 points on 7-9 shooting.
Towards the end, Miami stars seemed to panic a bit. The announcers called them out on their body language. At one point Wade dribbled the ball off his foot and out of bounds with no pressure. James tried to drive in only to dish it to someone, even if it was the right play he’ll still be flayed for not slamming it home.
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And when a Dallas victory was eminent, Mark Jackson had to add a ‘Momma! There goes that man’ on a Dirk Nowitzki replay. As the buzzer sounded, Dirk hopped a bench and went off the court. Jason Terry was the man of the hour. In the postgame interview he said: “Me and Dirk, for the last five years we’d go to sleep with that (2006) over our heads. Now we’ve got vindication for Dallas. And when you do something as crazy as putting on a trophy tattoo on your arm, you gotta back it up.”
Of course Dirk came back for the trophy presentation. It was quite a scene. JJ Barea had a Puerto Rico flag draped across his shoulders. Mark Cuban deflected all praise, requesting the trophy to be presented to the founder of the Mavericks, Don Carter. Later when being questioned he directed Stuart Scott, the interviewer, to his Coach Rick Carlisle.
Carlisle said: “We are an old school team, we can’t outjump or outrun people but we trust each other and we believe in each other.” Jason Kidd was questioned about the lack of wheelchair and canes, as he’s one of the oldest players to start and win a championship. He replied that with this group, he could go on to play for another two years.
Dallas Mavericks were cold steel. They had incredible comebacks throughout the playoffs, some of the best in recent memory. They had swept the past champions LA Lakers. Their postseason run tempered the fire of their past failures into a shining blade of confidence, poise and a sense of destiny. That blade sliced through the Miami Heat. They’ve achieved their destiny and validated Dirk Nowitzki’s legacy as one of the best players to ever play the game.
