MIAMI — Playful body punches were being exchanged, but there had yet to be a knockout blow.
So the Dallas Mavericks took notice. Then took offense.
While the Miami Heat started dancing early, the Mavericks enhanced their Comeback Kings reputation with one of the most stunning ra
llies in NBA Finals history, overcoming a 15-point deficit in the final 6:20 to pull out a 95-93 victory in Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
With the Mavericks clearly motivated by the Heat’s premature giddiness, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry guided them to a remarkable revival, hitting a three-poin
ter with 26.7 seconds left to put the Mavericks ahead 93-90. Miami tied the score on Mario Chalmers’ three-pointer with 24.5 showing on a busted defense by the Mavericks.
Nowitzki rescued them again, spinning off of Chris Bosh and pushing in a soft, left-handed layup with 3.6 left.
That would be the same left hand that he has a torn tendon in his middle finger that required him to play with a splint.
So, who needs a splint now after the Mavericks got a split?
They certainly fractured the Heat’s hope of sweeping the first two games in Miami.
And so, the Mavericks leveled the best-of-seven NBA Finals 1-1 and now return to Dallas for the middle three games of the series knowing that they have a grand opportunity to be NBA champions for the first time within the next 10 days.
It was eerily similar to Game 3 in 2006, when the Mavericks blew a 13-point lead in the final seven minutes.
They liked being on the good side of the equation a lot better.
“If you’re going to win a championship, you’ve got to have the wherewithal to hang in when things are tough,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “All year, our guys have believed and tonight was another good example. They had to win the game and it wasn’t easy.”
And for the longest time, it looked like there was no hope of a happy ending.
When Dwyane Wade, who had 36 points, poured in a three-pointer from the corner right in front of the Mavericks’ bench with 7:14 to go, the Mavericks were down 88-73. Carlisle called a timeout and LeBron James threw some soft punches into Wade’s chest as the pair did a little dance heading to the Miami bench.
“They were emotional and excited,” said Brian Cardinal. “I don’t know if it ignited us. I’m sure it helped refocus everybody. You notice everything. That’s the beauty of having 15 guys on the bench. Everybody’s got an eyeball on something.
A 22-5 run later, the Mavericks had proven that they were well aware of the Heat’s antics.
Terry had eight points as the Mavericks crept back slowly. First, they got it to 88-81. Then it was 90-86.
Then Nowitzki hit a jump shot off a Terry feed. Suddenly, it was a two-point game and Nowitzki tied with a layup with 57.6 seconds left.
That set up his three-pointer. When Chalmers answered, the Mavericks were miffed.
“In our huddle, there were a lot of curse words,” Terry said. “That was my mistake. I left Chalmers wide open.”
But Nowitzki erased the mistake and the Mavericks were the ones who ended up dancing.
“First of all, every team in the league does something when they go on a run, whether it’s chest bump or whatever,” said Wade of the celebratory moment. “They won the game, so obviously it did something. But that’s not the first time and it won’t be the last time. Don’t make anything about the celebration. It had nothing to do with the outcome of the game for us. Defensively, we had breakdowns.”
After Nowitzki’s lefty layup, the Heat had no timeouts left and got only a desperation three-pointer from Wade at the buzzer, which was off the mark, a rare miss on a night when he had 36 points.
“It was a turning point in the game,” Terry said of the Heat’s antics. “We said there’s no way we’re going out like this, with them dunking on us and stuff. It would have really been disheartening.”
Instead, it was a big show of heart for the Mavericks.
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