Dirk Nowitzki: Mr. Fourth Quarter for the Dallas Mavericks - NBA Special Report
The 32-year-old Dallas Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki has over the years established himself as flawless shooter and unyielding defender. However, in the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, the German sharp-shooter has added
yet another feather in his cap and has earned the reputation of the Mr. Fourth Quarter. Throughout the series, Nowitzki has initiated startling comebacks in the fourth quarters. After the game-1 disappointment, Dallas has won three out of four games on the
back of Nowitzki’s brilliance in the clutch.
The focus of the veteran player Dirk has been unwavering throughout this year’s play-offs and he has become absolutely unstoppable in the Finals. The invincible trio LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh have failed to match
the might of Nowitzki down the stretch. An overview on Nowitzki’s fourth quarter performances is discussed below.
Game 2: Dallas Mavericks 95 – Miami Heat 93
Miami were leading with four points with the start of the fourth quarter when Wade surged with a series of dunk shot, free throws and 3-pointer to amplify the lead to 15 points. Trailing by a massive margin with less than seven
minutes remaining in the final buzzer seemed too much for the Mavericks.
However, the influential shooter stood confident against all the odds and startled the American Airline Arena with a surprising comeback. Jason Terry landed a few buckets first as Dirk thrashed Miami with back to back jump shot,
layups and 3-pointer in the last three minutes of the game and snatched the victory from Miami to wrap up the first win of the series. Nowitzki scored 9 points in less than three minutes as the night ended in high spirits for Dallas.
Game 4: Dallas Mavericks 86 – Miami Heat 83
Coughing and sneezing with 101-degree fever, the All-star Nowitzki had a slow start in the game. However, Mr. Fourth Quarter shook off his fever and absolutely dominated the proceedings in the final 12 minutes to spearhead the
Mavericks for another brilliant victory. Miami took the lead to 9 points in the preliminary minutes of the fourth quarter when Dirk smashed the Heat with a 10-point blitz in less than 9 minutes remaining on the clock and marshalled the Mavericks for an electrifying
victory.
Game 5: Dallas Mavericks 112 – Miami Heat 103
This time the Dallas Mavericks entered the fourth quarter with five point’s advantage as Miami took the charge aggressively and strived to provide their best down the stretch. However, in order to keep the momentum going, the Heat
had to outperform the brilliance of Nowitzki as they failed to do that once again. Dirk scored 8 points in the final quarter and freed up a number of opportunities for his teammates and Dallas raced away to another exciting win.
Nowitzki has proved his brilliance in the fourth quarter again and again during the series which is the major reason for the Dallas Mavericks success. The team will be expecting one more untiring assail in the fourth quarter from
Dirk in the next game to finish the job on Sunday night and clinch their first championship title.
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