Dallas Mavericks stun Miami Heat 95-93 in game-2 of NBA Finals – Part 1
On Thursday night, the Dallas Mavericks came from behind to secure a 95 – 93 win over the Miami Heat in game 2 of the NBA Finals. The sell-out American Airlines Arena crowd was treated to a splendid game as both teams played great
basketball right until the end. Miami’s fans might have thought the game was won after a strong start to the fourth quarter, but the Mavs showed great resilience to come back and steal the win.
The Mavericks won the thriller on the back of a furious rally late, in which they just took over the game. Dirk Nowitzki, who put the final touches on the charge, said it couldn’t have been possible without the defence, "I thought
defensively we really got into them," Nowitzki said. "We pressured them full court and we scrambled defensively. We even gave up some offensive rebounds, but we kept scrambling."
He also praised the team’s character for showing great spirit even when things were not going their way, "Definitely a huge comeback for us and we never gave up, and that was big,"
Miami had a plan for Dirk Nowitzki tonight and it seemed to be working for most of the game as Nowitzki failed to impose himself. However, the veteran star came into his own in the final stretch and ended up with a team high effort
in points, 24, as well as in rebounds, 11.
Shawn Marion and Tyson Chandler made big contributions during the game. Marion was particularly impressive with 20 points and 8 rebounds while Chandler had 13 points and 7 rebounds. Jason Terry also had a good game coming off the
bench with 16 points and 5 assists.
For the Heat, Dwyane Wade had a superb performance with a game high 36 points. He also set up his teammates 6 times on the night. LeBron James scored 20 and grabbed 8 boards. The last performance of note for Miami came from Mike
Bibby, who made 4 three pointers and ended up with 14 points.
The Mavericks started the game brighter and an early 10 – 2 run, gave them a six point lead with 7:49 to go. Miami responded with a 10 – 2 rally of their own, taking the lead in the process. The quarter continued in a similar vein
with both teams scoring freely, and after some more back and forth action, it ended on 28 – 28.
Dirk Nowitzki struggled in the second quarter while Dwyane Wade dominated. Nowitzki made just 1-of-6 shots attempted to end with 5 points. On the other hand, Wade was on fire, going 5-of-7 from the field on his way to 13 points.
However, Nowitzki’s help turned up and Miami’s other players slacked off, resulting in a deadlock once again. Even though Dallas led by nine with 3 minutes left to play, a 9 – 0 spurt by the Heat meant that the first half ended on level pegging at 51 – 51.
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