Dallas Mavericks win the NBA Crown at last; Beat the Miami Heat 105 – 95 (Part 1)
On a momentous Sunday night at the American Airlines Arena, the Dallas Mavericks finally laid the ghost of the 2006 NBA Finals to rest with a 105 – 95 win over the Miami Heat in game-6 of the NBA Finals 2011. The Mavericks took
the Finals and the NBA World Championship with the win. The series ended at 4-2.
The Mavericks came into the series as underdogs against the star studded Miami Heat. A team of veterans many had labelled as past their prime, the Mavs proved the critics wrong to take a win that will long be cherished in Dallas.
Head coach Rick Carlisle enthused about his players and how they had won as a unit rather as talented individuals.
"This is a true team," Carlisle said. "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."
The Mavericks win in the NBA Finals was especially sweet for star forward Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki, for so long carried the label of “one of the best not to win a ring”, answered every critic he ever had. Nowitzki secured his place
in NBA history and was chuffed to bits after the win.
"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 undescribable." Said a triumphant Dirk Nowitzki after
the game.
Nowitzki was not on song, at least early on in game 6. He struggled to get his shot going and was a very poor 1-of-12 from the field in the first half. He improved after the interval to finish with a double-double, 21 points and
11 rebounds.
However the rest of Dallas’ old guard more than made up for Dirk’s slow night. Jason Terry came off the bench for the game high 27 points. Shawn Marion also contributed well with 12 points and 8 rebounds. 38 year old Jason Kidd,
who became the oldest player to win an NBA World Championship tonight, was again vital with 9 points and 8 assists.
Jose Barea rounded up the notable Mavericks performances with 15 points and 5 assists.
The Miami Heat had their backs to the wall but failed to produce a fighting performance. The Heat were led by superstar LeBron James with 21 points, but he also had 6 turnovers. Dwyane Wade had 17 points but he too struggled with
5 turnovers. Chris Bosh and Mario Chalmers were impressive with 19 and 18 points respectively.
LeBron was hot early on and he opened the scoring in the game with a 3-pointer. The Heat looked good and took a nine point lead with 6:19 left in the first quarter. However, the Mavs came charging back as they outscored Miami 21-7
for the remainder of the period, ending the quarter leading at 32 – 27.
Miami Heat used a 14-0 run in the second quarter to take back the lead at 42-40 with 6:25 left to play. Miami were foiled however by Jason Terry who scored 10 points in the last 4 minutes before the interval to wrestle back the
advantage for Dallas. The first half ended at 53 – 51.
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