John Riordan in New York
THE Dallas Mavericks were dead and buried, facing into a potentially devastating 2-0 series deficit against the Miami Heat.
But then a remarkable burst of scoring produced one of the greatest comebacks in NBA Finals history.
Down 15 points with just over four minutes to play, they rallied to win 95-93, courtesy of a 20-2 run that stunned the home crowd.
And, despite a frustrating night overall, it was Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki (right) who capped their incredible comeback with the final nine points, making two late baskets left-handed despite a torn tendon on that non-shooting hand. He finished with 24 points.
"I thought defensively we really got into them," Nowitzki said afterwards. "We pressured them full court and we scrambled defensively. We even gave up some offensive rebounds, but we kept scrambling."
The teams had been tied at half-time and Nowitzki levelled it once again, this time at 90-90 with 57 seconds to go. After yet another Heat timeout, he added a sensational three-pointer to nudge his Mavs ahead. But the home side responded in kind when Mario Chalmers found himself in space as the Mavs defence went missing allowing Chalmers to sink a three-pointer.
Dallas then ran the clock down, allowing Nowitzki to break through for a well-worked lay-up with just three seconds left. Dwyane Wade, who finished with 36 points, was handed the ball for a rushed three-point attempt but the game was up for Miami.
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle praised his charges afterwards: “This team has been through a lot of difficult situations, we’ve been down big in the play-offs. We’ve shown that we have the ability to come back. We believe that if we get stops, we’ll always get a chance.”
His opposite number Erik Spoelstra pledged his team would bounce back.
“We have a lot of guys who have the character and toughness to respond to a game like this. We’re not happy about it, certainly not with the way we closed it. It’s so uncharacteristic for us, on both ends of the court. But we’re a resilient group. By the time we get on that plane tomorrow, we’ll have our minds and body spirit ready for Game Three. This is a long series.”
Game Three takes place in Dallas just after midnight on Sunday evening. The Mavs will also host Games Four and Five meaning they can mathematically take the title without returning to Miami.
“It was phenomenal,” said Mavs veteran Jason Terry. “This is what the finals are all about, moments like these, something that you’ll never forget for the rest of your life.
“It was a tough night for Dirk all around. He was struggling to get it going for a while. But in each of the time outs, you could see it in his eyes. If there was time left on that clock, he wasn’t going to give up and neither were his team mates. In that last possession, I saw him wide open and I couldn’t believe it. And he just knocked it down.
“We have a sheer will to win, a true grit and veteran leadership. We told each other, stay with it. There’s a long series there. Even when Dwyane Wade hit that big three in the corner, we said there’s still time fellas, let’s get some stops and put some scores on the board. And we did that, we went on a five-minute run. That’s Mavericks basketball.”
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/TTD1NBD0lnA/post.aspx
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