Dallas Mavericks win the NBA Crown at last; beat the Miami Heat 105 – 95 (Part 2)
The Miami Heat looked to take control of the must win game in the third quarter but failed as Dallas Mavericks stared to build a considerable lead. The Heat took the lead and lost it again within the first two minutes of the third
quarter. They trailed the Mavs throughout the period after that and fell behind further as the quarter drew to close. At the end, the Mavs were up by nine at 81 – 72.
Nothing seemed to work for the Miami Heat even in the last quarter. With the NBA Finals slipping away from their grasp, the Heat seemed to mount one more charge and cut the gap down to four points early in the final period. However,
the Mavericks just wouldn’t stop scoring at the other end, meaning the Heat’s efforts were all in vain. Dirk Nowitzki, after struggling in the first half, found his stroke in the critical period as he helped the Mavs stretch their lead to 13 at one point.
Miami seemed resigned to their fate at the end and, trailing by double figures, elected not to foul and let the Mavericks run out the clock. The game ended at 105 -95.
The celebrations had begun at the Mavericks bench with a minute still left to play and owner Mark Cuban rushed the court once the whistle had sounded to congratulate his players and staff.
Mavs guard Jason Terry, who is the only surviving member, apart from Nowitzki, of their 2006 team that lost to the heat in the NBA Finals that year, said the faith the franchise had shown has been vindicated.
"Tonight," Terry said, "we got vindication."
Meanwhile Dirk Nowitzki was overcome by emotion and said after the game it was hard to believe that the Dallas Mavericks had finally found their Holy Grail.
"I really still can't believe it," said Dirk before adding, "We worked so hard and so long for it, the team has had an unbelievable ride."
The Mavs had 40 rebounds compared to 39 by the Miami Heat. They also turned the ball over less than the Heat with, 14 to 17. However they really hurt Miami with their shooting. Even with Nowitzki going 9-of-27, the Mavs shot 50
percent from the field and 42.3 percent from beyond the arc. The Heat could only manage 47.2 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from downtown.
After a season that started with so much promise for the Heat, with LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade joining forces, they fell short of the ultimate objective at the end. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said the defeat was hard
to take, but conceded the Mavs deserved their win.
"It goes without saying," Erik Spoelstra said. "You're never really prepared for a moment like this. ... Neither team deserved this championship more than the other, but Dallas earned it."
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