Home » Sports » Basketball
Mavs roast Heat to win maiden title
Source: Agencies |
June 14, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Dallas Mavericks ended three decades of frustration by capturing their first championship with a 105-95 victory over the Heat in Miami on Sunday to win the best-of-seven National Basketball Association finals 4-2.
Guard Jason Terry came off the bench to score 27 points and lead a long-range assault by the Mavericks, who connected on 11 of 26 from beyond the arc.
"We're a resilient bunch, and we saw it," said Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, who averaged 26 points per game and was named the series MVP.
"This whole series we were down. We kept battling back. Kept believing in each other. This is a win of team basketball."
Nowitzki hit only 9 of 27 shots but, as he had been all series, excelled as the game entered its final stages, scoring 10 of his 21 points in the final quarter to snuff out any Miami hopes of a comeback.
The Mavericks reached the finals in 2006 but lost to Miami in six games.
Nowitzki said winning his first championship was "extra special" because he was "always coming up a little short" in pursuit of a title.
"If I would have won one early in my career, maybe I would have never put all the work and the time in that I have over the last 13 years," he said. "So this feels amazing."
LeBron James paced the Heat with 21 points but had a quiet game after the first period when he scored nine. Chris Bosh added 19, Mario Chalmers 18 and Dwyane Wade 17.
James came up short in his championship chase after having teamed up with fellow free agent Bosh to join Wade in Miami last summer as part of the so-called "Big Three."
Dallas hoists the Larry O'Brien Trophy for the first time in the franchise's 31-year existence.
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle joined a highly elite group with the win - those with NBA titles as both a player and a head coach. He was a part of the Boston Celtics team that won the championship over the Houston Rockets in 1986.
Only 10 other men are on that list, including Lakers coach Phil Jackson and Heat President Pat Riley - who led Miami past Dallas in 2006 as coach.
When the Mavericks took a 2-0 lead in Dallas during the 2006 finals, plans for their victory parade were announced. But the Mavericks didn't win another game in that series.
Now, that parade will finally happen with Dallas getting its first title more than 30 years after the team was founded in 1980. Kidd, at 38 years old, also got his first championship, as did Nowitzki at 32 and Terry at 33.
Guard Jason Terry came off the bench to score 27 points and lead a long-range assault by the Mavericks, who connected on 11 of 26 from beyond the arc.
"We're a resilient bunch, and we saw it," said Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki, who averaged 26 points per game and was named the series MVP.
"This whole series we were down. We kept battling back. Kept believing in each other. This is a win of team basketball."
Nowitzki hit only 9 of 27 shots but, as he had been all series, excelled as the game entered its final stages, scoring 10 of his 21 points in the final quarter to snuff out any Miami hopes of a comeback.
The Mavericks reached the finals in 2006 but lost to Miami in six games.
Nowitzki said winning his first championship was "extra special" because he was "always coming up a little short" in pursuit of a title.
"If I would have won one early in my career, maybe I would have never put all the work and the time in that I have over the last 13 years," he said. "So this feels amazing."
LeBron James paced the Heat with 21 points but had a quiet game after the first period when he scored nine. Chris Bosh added 19, Mario Chalmers 18 and Dwyane Wade 17.
James came up short in his championship chase after having teamed up with fellow free agent Bosh to join Wade in Miami last summer as part of the so-called "Big Three."
Dallas hoists the Larry O'Brien Trophy for the first time in the franchise's 31-year existence.
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle joined a highly elite group with the win - those with NBA titles as both a player and a head coach. He was a part of the Boston Celtics team that won the championship over the Houston Rockets in 1986.
Only 10 other men are on that list, including Lakers coach Phil Jackson and Heat President Pat Riley - who led Miami past Dallas in 2006 as coach.
When the Mavericks took a 2-0 lead in Dallas during the 2006 finals, plans for their victory parade were announced. But the Mavericks didn't win another game in that series.
Now, that parade will finally happen with Dallas getting its first title more than 30 years after the team was founded in 1980. Kidd, at 38 years old, also got his first championship, as did Nowitzki at 32 and Terry at 33.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
