Dallas Mavericks stun Miami Heat 95-93 in game-2 of NBA Finals – Part 2
Link for part-1: http://www.senore.com/Dallas-Mavericks-stun-Miami-Heat-95-93-in-game-2-of-NBA-Finals-Part-1-a73367
Dirk Nowitzki shot better after the interval and managed to find 3-of-6 from the field in the third quarter. The Dallas Mavericks however fell a little off the pace. With the scores still close and 4:43 left on the clock, the Miami
Heat made a 7 – 0 run that took their lead into double figures. The Mavs came back with a 6 – 0 spurt and the quarter ended with Dallas trailing by 4, at 71 – 75.
What followed was a stunning final quarter. First off, it was Miami’s turn to rumble and Dwyane Wade exploded, leading the Heat to a 13 – 0 run which gave them a 15 point lead with 7:14 remaining. Dwyane scored 9 in the run, including
the opening dunk and the closing three. At that time, it looked as if Miami had once again won the game with a surge in the final period. However there was a fateful twist still left in the tale.
The Dallas Mavericks scored an incredible 20 points with just 2 in reply to take the score to 93 – 90 with only 26 seconds left to play. Jason Terry got the run going with 6 straight points. Then Jason Kidd nailed a huge 3-pointer
after two free throws from LeBron James had taken the Heat’s total to 90. The Mavs then looked to their talisman, Dirk Nowitzki, and the Big German did not disappoint.
Dirk Nowitzki shrugged off his poor shooting performance on the night and took over in the final moments. He hit a jumper to get the Mavs within two points of the Heat and then made a lay up to level the scores. Then, just like
in the final game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Nowitzki hit a big go-ahead three point shot. Mario Chalmers hit back on the next possession from downtown to draw level again with 24 seconds left to play, giving Miami a shot at still taking the win.
However, Nowitzki was just not going to let it happen. On the final possession for the Mavs, he took the ball near the 3-point line, turned and drove past Chris Bosh right to the rim for what turned out to be winning basket.
With just 3.6 seconds left to play, Dwyane Wade attempted a three but missed, giving Dallas a terrific victory, one of the greatest come back wins in the NBA Finals history.
Miami had been the stronger team up until the end of the game, but they fell apart in the face of Dallas’ relentless late charge. The Heat had opportunity after opportunity but just could not take their chances. Their two best
players, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, missed two 3-pointers each in the final two minutes alone.
Miami’s head coach Erik Spoelstra was gutted after the loss and accepted that the defeat, and the manner of it, was hard to take.
"No question about it, that's about as tough a fourth quarter you can have. When it started to slide, it just kept on going ... We're not happy about this. Certainly the way we closed the game is so uncharacteristic for us on both
ends of the court." Said Spoelstra after the game.
The win for the Mavs has levelled the NBA Finals at 1 – 1.
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