Dallas Mavericks cool off the Miami Heat - NBA Finals Roundup (Part-4)
Game 6: Dallas Mavericks 105 – Miami Heat 95
On Sunday night, The Dallas Mavericks entered the chasing their biggest dream to become the NBA Champions for the first time in their franchise history.
However, standing in their way were the big three of Miami, who had vowed to establish a legacy of their own, in the much hyped post-season. The star troika however failed to live up to their word and got bogged down by a brilliant
team performance from the Mavs. The Mavericks beat the Heat 105-95 that night and eliminated them from the title race in the game-6 of the Finals.
After tight four games at the start of the Finals, the Mavs had torn apart the Heat defence in the fifth game. They continued that trend in the game-6 as well and led by as many as 12, midway through the fourth.
It was a proud day for the Dallas’ coach Rick Carlisle as he said after the game, "This is a true team. This is an old bunch. We don't run fast or jump high. These guys had each other's backs. We played the right way. We trusted
the pass. This is a phenomenal thing for the city of Dallas."
Dirk Nowitzki, perhaps the best shooter of his era and definitely in list of top ten players ever to grace the league, had been striving for the title for more than a decade. On Sunday, he finally furnished a championship ring
to his illustrious resume. The influential power forward had a magnificent double-double as he landed 21 points and clutched 11 rebounds in less than 39 minutes of playing time. He was overwhelmed after the win and went straight into the locker room while
his teammates celebrated. After composing himself, he returned and had this to say.
"It took so long for us to get here. I don't really know if it would have made a difference [winning in Miami]. Just this feeling to be on the best team of the world is just indescribable." Nowitzki said.
The highlight of the night though was the emergence of Jason Terry yet again. He simply phenomenal on the night and landed a team-high 27 points. Nowitzki marvelled on Jason’s outstanding performance and said, "Was he unbelievable
tonight or what?"
Although the Mavs were under the cosh early, they responded and procured 32-27 lead by the end of the first quarter. Miami lifted the momentum and romped to a 20-11 run in the second quarter, gaining a 4 point advantage with a
minute and a half to go till the interval. However, Terry buried successive jumpers and followed it with two 3-pointers just before the halftime asthe Mavericks reclaimed the lead 53-51 going into the halftime.
The Mavericks showed no signs of retreat in the second half of the game and dominated the opposition magnificently. Terry and Nowitzki led the proceedings commandingly in the last two quarters as the Dallas Mavericks romped towards
a comprehensive victory and clinched their first ever NBA title.
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