Dirk Nowitzki leads Dallas Mavericks to a 95-93 victory over Miami Heat in Game-2 of NBA Finals
On Thursday night, the Dallas Mavericks successfully bounced back from a defeat in game-1 and behind some breath taking play from Dirk Nowitzki down the stretch, stung the Heat 95-93 to tie the NBA finals, 1-1.
Despite a torn tendon on the non-shooting hand, the German sharp-shooter scored a team-high 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds on the night. Nowitzki scored the last nine points of Dallas, including a game winning layup with 3.6
seconds remaining and finished with a 10-for-22 from the field. Shawn Marion had 20 points and eight rebounds while Jason Terry came off the bench with 16 points and five assists for the Mavs.
The Heat guard Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 36 points, six assists, and five rebounds. LeBron James added 20 points, Mike Bibby had 14 points and Chris Bosh ended the night with 12 points.
Dallas got off to an impressive start and carried a 12-6 lead early in the first quarter. The Big Three retaliated with some quality shots though and put the Heat ahead by 16-13 with 05:23 to go in the first. The Mavericks found
their way in the last minute of the quarter and managed to take a one-point lead.
However, with 15 seconds left in the frame, James hit a three-pointer to give Miami a two-point advantage at 28-26. J.J. Barea responded for the Mavs and nailed a jumper in the closing second of the quarter as Dallas tied the game
at 28-28, heading into the second.
The Mavs rattled the Heat with a 12-6 run early in the second. Miami however responded and slashed the deficit to two with 05:55 remaining in the second. Dallas scored the next five points of the quarter to widen its lead to 47-40
but Miami again went on a 9-0 run in the last three minutes to tie the game on 51 at halftime.
The Heat opened the third quarter on a 6-1 spurt to take a 57-52 lead. Marion hit a turnaround hook shoot while Nowitzki hit a jump bank shot in the ensuing minute to cut the margin to just one. Miami played well in the next few
minutes and stretched their lead to 71-61 with 03:02 to go in the third. The see saw battle continued though as the Mavs went on a 10-4 run to show only four points down, 75-71, heading into the fourth.
Wade was brilliant in the fourth quarter and scored nine of his points in the first four minutes to propel Miami to an 88-73 lead. At that point, the game looked done and dusted and Miami seemed to be heading to Dallas with a 2-0
lead.
The Mavs had other ideas though.
Jason Terry scored six points on a trot and Marion hit a driving lay-up shot as Dallas trimmed the deficit to seven points. James halted the surge with a pair of free throws to make it 90-81 but there was no stopping the fight
back. The Mavericks came back into the game at the very right time and scored 12 unanswered points to take a three-point lead, 93-90, with 26 seconds remaining. The Heat guard Mario Chalmers hit a very crucial three-pointer in the next possession to knot the
game at 93. The Big Dirk sensed a victory though and he hit a driving layup to give the Mavs’ a two-point lead with just 3.6 to go. Wade missed a three-pointer in the closing second and Dallas held on to a win.
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