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Mavs vs. Heat Game 2 NBA Finals Recap: Anatomy of a Comeback

With 7:15 to go in the 4th quarter of Game 2 of the 2011 NBA Finals the scoreboard at American Airlines Arena in Miami read Heat 88 Mavericks 73. For the Mavs things obviously looked bleak. They staring a 0-2 deficit right in the face, and they were having it rubbed in their faces by Miami's superstar duo of Wade and James who were celebrating in front of the Dallas bench after a Wade made 3.


The Mavs however had been there before. They faced the same deficit with less than 5 minutes to go in Game 4 in Oklahoma City to come back to win, so they knew it was possible. They however needed their 2 top scorers to come to life and that is exactly what happened. Jason Terry who had only 8 points at this point after a bad Game 1 performance scored 6 consecutive points to cut the lead to 9. Then a Shawn Marion runner made it a 7 point contest. After 2 LeBron free throws Jason Kidd hit a 3 to make it 6 point game. Then after a Terry pull-up jumper cut the lead to 4 it became Dirk time.


Nowitzki who had only 15 points at that point, hit a jumper to make the score 90-88 with less than 2 minutes to go. After a stop the Mavs couldn't convert on a chance to tie or take the lead, but Miami missed 2 more shots and the Mavs were able to tie the score with a fast break lefty layup by Dirk with just under a minute to go.


After a James missed 3 Dirk was able to free himself thanks to a Tyson Chandler 3 for a wide open 3 with 27 seconds to go that gave the Mavs a 3 point lead. On the ensuing inbound play Terry left Mario Chalmers open for 3 to tie the game with 24.5 seconds to go.


After that the Mavs would hold for a final shot and there was no doubt who the ball was going to. Dirk got the ball and spun past Chris Bosh to lay the ball in with his left hand, showing the injury to his middle finger had no effect. The Heat curiously never used the foul they had to give and were left with no timeouts when they inbounded the ball with just over 3 seconds left. Wade's 30 foot prayer was not answered and another Mavs miracle comeback was complete.


The series is now tied at 1 apiece as we had to Dallas for 3 games. Will the momentum the Mavericks enjoyed in the closing minutes of Game 2 carry over or will Miami bounce back? The questions will become answers when game 3 happens at the AAC on Sunday.

Team Leaders

Mavs

Points: Nowitzki,24

Rebounds: Nowitzki, 11

Assists: Kidd and Terry, 5

Heat

Points: Wade, 36

Rebounds: Bosh and James, 8

Assists: Wade, 6

Mavs vs. Heat NBA Finals Preview

2011 NBA Finals

Dallas Mavericks (57-25, 12-3) vs. Miami Heat (58-24, 12-3)

Schedule

Game 1 Tues. May 31 8:00 at Miami

Game 2 Thurs. June 2 8:00 at Miami

Game 3 Sun. June 5 7:00 at Dallas

Game 4 Tues. June 7 8:00 at Dallas

Game 5 Thurs. June 9 8:00 at Dallas

Game 6 Sun. June 12 7:00 at Miami

Game 7 Tues. June 14 8:00 at Miami

playoff results

Mavericks

beat Portland 4-2

beat Lakers 4-0

beat Thunder 4-1

Heat

beat 76ers 4-1

beat Celtics 4-1

beat Bulls 4-1

playoff team leaders

Mavericks

PPG: Dirk Nowitzki, 28. 4

RPG: Tyson Chandler, 9.3

APG: Jason Kidd, 7.7

SPG: Kidd, 2.2

BPG: Shawn Marion and Brendan Haywood, 1.0

Heat

PPG: LeBron James, 26.0

RPG: Chris Bosh, 8.9

APG: James, 5.5

SPG: James and Dwayne Wade, 1.7

BPG: Joel Anthony, 2.1

regular season head to head results

Nov. 27 Mavs 106 Heat 95 at Dallas

Dec. 20 Mavs 98 Heat 96 at Miami

2006 Finals results

Game 1 Mavs 90 Heat 80 at Dallas

Game 2 Mavs 99 Heat 85 at Dallas

Game 3 Heat 98 Mavs 96 at Miami

Game 4 Heat 98 Mavs 74 at Miami

Game 5 Heat 101 Mavs 100 (OT) at Miami

Game 6 Heat 95 Mavs 92 at Dallas

notes: The Mavericks have won 14 consecutive regular season matchups vs. Miami. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry for Dallas and Dwayne Wade and Udonis Haslem for Miami are the only players that remain from the 2006 Finals teams. Nowitzki and LeBron James are of 7 NBA MVPs not to win a championship. Between 2007 and 2010 the Mavs 2009 first round series win over the Spurs was the only playoff series either team won. This is the first Finals since 1999 (Spurs vs. Knicks) that neither coach has prior Finals coaching experience.

NBA Finals Schedule

Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat

Game 1: Tues. May 31 at Miami 8:00

Game 2: Thurs. June 2 at Miami 8:00

Game 3: Sun. June 5 at Dallas 7:00

Game 4: Tues. June 7 at Dallas 8:00

Game 5: Thurs. June 9 at Dallas 8:00 (if necessary)

Game 6: Sun. June 12 at Miami 7:00 (if necessary)

Game 7: Tues. June 14 at Miami 8:00 (if necessary)

all games on ABC

NBA Finals Schedule

Mavs vs. Thunder Game 5 Review

For five years the Mavericks have waited for the chance to return to the NBA Finals. At times it looked like they might never get another chance. But he there are, back in the Finals and likely against the same opponent.

The Mavs clinched their Finals berth with a 100-96 victory over the Thunder Wednesday night, winning the series in five games. Once again the Mavs have found themselves trailing in the fourth quarter, albeit with a much smaller deficit. Once again they dominated during crunch time, showing that when it comes the playoffs experience matters.

Dirk Nowitzki gave Dallas the lead on his second try from 3 with 1:14 to go. Overall he cap another brilliant series with 26 points and 9 rebounds, going 8-15 from the field and making all 9 free throws as he made 59 of 61 free throw attempts for the series.

The other star of the game was Shawn Marion who had a playoff high 26 including 14 in the 4th quarter. His breakaway jam resulted in a 3 point play following Dirk's three, putting the Mavs up 4. The game would be iced on 2 Dirk three throws with 13 seconds to go and a celebration followed.

However the Mavericks did not celebrate too much, taking the lead of their superstar by leaving the court early, showing their goal has still not been completed.

Also making major contributions for Dallas were J.J. Barea with 14 off the bench, Jason Kidd who had 7 boards, 10 assists and only one turnover and Tyson Chandler who had 9 points and rebounds before fouling out. Even Brendan Haywood was able to make 5-6 from the line after struggling mightily there all season.

For the young Thunder they showed why they such a promising future, but they still have room the grow. Russell Westbrook led OKC with 31 while Kevin Durant and James Harden but chipped in with 23. The Mavs were once again able to keep Durant in check as he was only 8-20 from the field while Westbrook needed 28 shots to get his 31.

The Mavericks time is now with a chance to capture the franchise first championship and put what happened in the 2006 Finals to rest for good.

Mavs vs. Thunder Game 5 Preview

Oklahoma City Thunder at Dallas Mavericks

Western Conference Finals Game 5

Mavs lead series 3-1

Wed. May 25 8:00 at the AAC

TV:ESPN

Series results

Game 1: Mavs 121 Thunder 112 at Dallas

Game 2: Thunder 106 Mavs 100 at Dallas

Game 3: Mavs 93 Thunder 87 at OKC

Game 4: Mavs 112 Thunder 105 (OT) at OKC

Series Leaders

Mavs

PPG: Dirk Nowitzki, 33.8

RPG: Tyson Chandler, 11.0

APG: Jason Kidd, 8.3

Thunder
PPG: Kevin Durant, 29.3
RPG: Durant, 9,5
APG: Russell Westbrook, 4.8

Mavericks previous West Finals Game 5 results
1988: Lakers 119 Mavs 102
2003: Mavs 103 Spurs 91

2006: Mavs 117 Suns 101 (Dirk scores 50)

Notes: Dirk Nowitzki is the first player to score over 40 points on over 60% shooting twice in a playoff series since Shaquille O' Neal in 2000. The Mavericks have won their last five games with the chance to eliminate their opponents in the playoffs. Dallas is now 12-11 all-time in West Finals games, having won 5 of their last 6. A win of course sends the Mavs to the NBA Finals for just the second time in franchise history.

Western Conference Finals Game 4 Recap

Almost always when a team in the NBA has a 15 point lead with less than 5 minutes to go the game is over. Somebody forgot to tell the Mavericks that as they made an improbable comeback to force overtime where they prevailed, beating the Thunder 112-105 to take a resounding 3-1 series lead.

For over 3 and a half quarters the Mavs were being totally outplayed, being destroyed on the boards and allowing OKC to shoot over 50% from the field. From that point on the Mavs turned on the defensive screws and went to who else but Dirk on offense who turned yet again another amazing performance. Dirk scored 12 of his 40 points in the Mavs 17-2 run to close regulation, hitting tough shots and 2 free throws to tie the game with 6 seconds to go. After that all the Thunder could muster was a 30 footer by Kevin Durant which was blocked by Shawn Marion who played tremendous defense on Durant during the stretch.

After never leading in regulation the Mavs never trailed in overtime taking the lead on a Jason Kidd 3 with 40 seconds left. Kidd has another tremendous outing filled with clutch plays to go along 17 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. Also giving a major contribution for Dallas was Jason Terry who contributed 20 points off the bench.

The Thunder were led by Durant who had 29 points and 15 rebounds but had 9 turnovers and struggled down the stretch. Also struggling in crunch time was Russell Westbrook who 19 points, 8 boards and 8 assists, but was just 7-22 from the field and had 6 of the Thunder's 25 turnovers.

The Mavs were able to take the game despite being totally dominated on the boards , getting outrebounded 55-33 for the game. Thankfully Dallas was able to clean up the defensive glass late leading to the amazing comeback.

For the Mavericks it was just another incredible playoff performance in a postseason that so far erased a lot of past demons and shown that no matter the final outcome this team truly has the heart of a champion.

Mavs vs. Thunder Game 4 Preview

Dallas Mavericks at Oklahoma City Thunder

Western Conference Finals Game 4
Mavs lead series 2-1

Mon. May 23 8:00 at the Oklahoma City Arena

TV: ESPN

Series results

Game 1: Mavs 121 Thunder 112 at Dallas

Game 2: Thunder 106 Mavs 100 at Dallas

Game 3: Mavs 93 Thunder 87 at OKC

Series leaders

Mavs

PPG: Dirk Nowitzki, 31.7

RPG: Tyson Chandler, 12.0

APG: Jason Kidd, 8.7

Thunder

PPG: Kevin Durant, 29.3

RPG: Durant, 7.7

APG: Durant, 4.7

Mavericks previous Game West Finals Game 4 Results

1988: Mavs 118 Lakers 104

2003: Spurs 102 Mavs 95

2006: Suns 106 Mavs 86

Notes: The Mavericks have won a franchise record 4 straight playoff road games and 8 of 9 games overall. Dallas has won all 3 games they have played this season in Oklahoma City. In the Dirk era the team that wins game three of a playoff series tied at 1-1 has gone on to win the series every time. The Thunder have not lost consecutive game during the entire playoffs.

Western Conference Finals Game 3 Recap

There are certain things an NBA championship team must be able to do. They must be able to win important games on the road no matter how hostile the crowd. A champion must be able to play great defense no matter the talent an offense presents on the court. Also a champion needs a superstar player who can carry the team when it needs to be, but also his teammates must at times carry him when that star has an off night. If Saturday night's was any indication the Mavericks might be on there way to becoming a champion at last.

Despite an off shooting night from Dirk Nowitzki(7-21, 18 points, 7 TO) the Mavs retook home court from Oklahoma City with a 93-87 win in Game 3 of the West Finals for a 2-1 series advantage. After not preforming to their defensive standards of the first two rounds in Games 1 and 2 the Mavs rediscovered their defensive intensity early jumping out to a 23 point lead in the first half, thereby quieting the arena and giving the home fans very little to cheer about. Leading the Mavs effort were Jason Kidd and Shawn Marion who played well on both sides of the ball. Marion tied Dirk for the team high in points with 18 while Kidd contributed an all around fantastic game with 13 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals.

The Mavs led by Marion held Kevin Durant to a 7-22 shooting performance including going 0-8 on threes for 24 points. In fact the entire Oklahoma City was ice cold from the field shooting .365% from the field and an embarrassing 1-17 from 3 including missing their first 16 shots from distance.

The Thunder did have their inevitable 4th quarter rally cutting the lead to 6 with under 3 minutes to go. The Mavericks showed once again that they have put Game 4 in Portland behind them and behind clutch shots and free throws by the duo of Dirk and Jason Terry(13 points, 6 assists) and key stops on defense help off the Thunder charge despite some questionable officiating.

Russell Westbrook responded to this 4th quarter benching in Game 2 with a Thunder high of 30 points, but struggled to help his teammates much with only 4 assists compared to 7 turnovers. While Kidd might not have the speed and athleticism anymore of a young player like Westbrook he can help his team in so many more areas by thinking the game as well as just about any player in history.

Tyson Chandler continued to show the Thunder what they missed out when they rescinded the trade they made for him 2 years ago. He contributed 8 points and 15 boards and left Oklahoma City so frustrated by his play they resorted to basically trying to draw technicals against them, as they did when James Harden ridiculously flopped on minimal contact.

Speaking of Harden after his incredible game 2 he was held almost completely in check going 2-9 from the field for only 7 points. Just another way the Dallas defense befuddled the usually potent Thunder attack.

Now it is on to the always pivotal game 4 where they know they will see a hungrier and more desperate Oklahoma City squad show up as they try to avoid losing 2 straight for the first time all postseason.

As long as the Mavs bring the defensive effort to go along what should be a bounce back game for Dirk, they should be in good shape to possibly go to 4-0 in OKC this year and go back home to clinch a Finals berth in Game 5.