Mavs win NBA TITLE BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


By Tim MacMahon


How it happened: Dirk Nowitzki, with a whole lot of help from his supporting cast, finished the job against the star-studded Miami Heat, 105-95.

It didn’t matter that Nowitzki, the Mavericks’ lone All-Star, had perhaps his worst performance of the postseason with a 9-of-27 shooting night. He once again delivered down the stretch, scoring 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter.

Jason Terry, Nowitzki’s lone teammate remaining from the 2006 Finals failure, made sure the Mavericks could survive an off night from their superstar. Terry scored a game-high 27 points, 19 of which came while Nowitzki missed 11 of his 12 field goal attempts in the first half.

Miami's Big Three -- LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh -- combined for 57 points. But that wasn't nearly enough to stop the Mavs from celebrating in Miami.


What it means: Five years after one was planned, there will finally be a championship parade in downtown Dallas. The Mavericks avenged their ‘06 Finals flop by knocking out the Heat on Miami’s home floor.

Play of the game: Dirk delivered the dagger with 2:27 to play. After bumping chests with Chris Bosh, Nowitzki knocked down a midrange fadeaway from the left baseline to bump the Mavs’ lead back to double digits.

Stat of the night: Nowitzki and Jason Kidd became the sixth players in NBA history to win their first championship after making at least 10 All-Star appearances. The others are Jerry West, Kevin Garnett, Oscar Robertson and Elvin Hayes.