Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks did it again.
With the Miami Heat up by 15 points with 7 minutes left in the 4th quarter, the Heat celebrated, envisioning a win and commanding 2-0 lead against the Mavs, relaxed, stopped playing, no defense, no intensity and passion which they showed for most of the game. Then the Mavericks came to life, continuously scored, silencing the deafening Miami crowd, went on an 8-0 run with 4 minutes remaining, continued to score and before you know it, the Mavericks are amazingly back in the game tying the marker to 90.
The story is the same in the Oklahoma series when the Mavericks were down 15 in the 4th quarter and suddenly the resilient Mavericks came back and won the game. This incredible willingness to come back into games when they are down with a commanding lead against them is exactly why the Mavs are in the NBA Finals, they are not going to give up, they continue to compete whatever the prospect of the game. They’ve been through a lot to give up in the NBA Finals, this is a chance at a championship and they’re not going to let it go.
The game was close for most of the game.
The game was tied at the end of the 1st and 2nd quarters, then the Miami Heat improved on it in the 2nd half increasing their lead to 15 until the Mavericks made their incredible comeback.
With the game tied at 90, led by one of the best shooters in the game, Dirk Nowitzki hit a 3-pointer and put the Miami Heat ahead. Then the Mavs had a defensive breakdown, Mario Chalmers was alone in the corner and hit a great 3-pointer with 24 seconds left, it’s an amazing pass from Lebron James in the corner to Chalmers hitting a dagger 3-pointer to the heart of the Mavs. the Mavericks.
Then, at the crunch time, the Mavericks put the ball in the hands of their best player, Dirk Nowitzki fumbled Chris Bosh’s pass and made the game-winning layup to stun the Miami Heat. Now the Mavs will go home to Dallas with momentum on their side and with the series tied 1-1.
One of the things that bothered the Mavs for most of the game is turnovers that resulted in fast-break points for the Miami Heat, which is hard to stop, especially with Lebron and Wade running down the floor.
The Mavericks had 18 turnovers to the Heat’s 12. The Mavericks have to limit their turnovers and take care of the ball on every possession. Easier said than done though, with the Miami Heat’s incredible defense and active hands, always looking for the steal, the Mavs will always have this challenge against the Heat. Dirk shot just 10-for-22 on the field, maybe that finger injury affected his shot one way or another even though he said it won’t affect his shot.
The Miami Heat have to learn to close games like they did in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
By celebrating early, winding down and not playing the game in the fourth quarter, they basically gave the Mavericks a chance to win the game. Even with the 15-point lead, a veteran team like the shooter-laden Mavericks will continue to score and compete until the game is over. The Miami Heat shouldn’t underestimate the Mavericks despite a sizable lead. For most of the game, the Miami Heat performed very well, with Dwayne Wade scoring a game-high 36 points.
Overall, the game was back and forth between these two teams with a surprising and exciting ending with the Mavericks winning 95-93. Both teams have a lot of work to do if they want to dominate the other team. The Miami Heat have shown that they can dominate the Mavericks with their run that took them to their 15 point lead in the 4th quarter. However, the Mavericks also showed that they are capable and that they can take the life of the Miami Heat and come back from a 15-point lead and win the game.
I’m looking for more of the same type of plays from both teams. It will be very interesting who will win if they can improve on the setbacks they had in Games 1 and 2. Hopefully, they will improve on those setbacks and play an amazing Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Let’s look ahead to Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat!