Tag: Jason Kidd

Three ‘Heatles’ trump Nowitzki again in Game 3

The Miami Heat outnumbered Dallas and Dirk Nowitzki again Sunday night.

The balanced Miami offense took advantage of solid performances from Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James  to cruise to an 88-86 victory in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. It provides the Heat with a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven series.

Wade went for 29 points  and 11 rebounds. Bosh notched 18 points including the game-winner with 39.6 seconds left. And James had a solid 17 points and nine assists.

Their collective effort overcame a monster game from Nowitzki, who scored a game-high 34 points but received little help from the rest of his Mavericks team.

Nowitzki had a chance to tie the game at the end of regulation, but he misfired on a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer that would have tied the game with Udonis Haslem providing tough defense.

“It was a good offensive play, and a good defensive play,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters after the game. “And he happened to miss.”

Nowitzki pulled the Mavericks into a chance to win the game at the end by scoring 12 straight points down the stretch on six free throws, a layup, a dunk and a tough jumper that tied it at 86.

But on the Mavericks’ final two possessions, Nowitzki threw a pass out of bounds and missed off the back iron as time ran out.

Dallas players know they must provide more help for Nowitzki in order to square the series when Game 4 is played on Tuesday night.

“We have to have somebody step up besides Dirk,” Dallas guard Jason Kidd told reporters after the game.

Miami’s balance enabled them to reclaim homecourt advantage on Sunday. They can gun for much more when the series resumes for Game 4.

STUDS

Miami G Dwyane Wade: Notched 29 points, 11 rebounds and three assists in the Heat’s 88-86 Game 3 victory over Dallas.

Miami F Chris Bosh: Despite playing with a painful swollen left eyelid, he produced 18 points including the game-winner with 39.6 seconds left in the Heat’s victory at Dallas.

Miami F LeBron James: Went for 17 points, nine assists, three rebounds and two steals in the Heat’s triumph over the Mavs.

Miami F Udonis Haslem: Scored only six points but was plus-5 and provided the defense to contest Dirk Nowitzki’s potential game-tying shot at the buzzer in Miami’s victory at Dallas.

Dallas F Dirk Nowitzki: Went for a game-high 34 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, blocked three shots and was a game-best plus-12 in the Mavericks’ loss to Miami.

DUDS

Dallas G J.J. Barea: Went 2-for-8 from the field with four turnovers in the Mavericks’ loss to Miami.

The Dallas bench: The Mavericks’ backups went a collective 8-for-24 from the field (33.3 percent) with five turnovers and were a collective minus-23 in their loss to Miami.

Mike Monroe: For Spurs fans, Finals offer no good choice

It’s hard to imagine a more compelling 2011 NBA Finals matchup than Mavericks vs. Heat, but most Spurs fans find the prospect of watching it more distasteful than guzzling a gallon of water straight from the San Antonio River.

In San Antonio, these finalists are easy to despise.

This is because one team is owned by a guy who tweaked civic pride by calling The River Walk “that ugly-ass, muddy-watered thing,” and the other is led by a player who ruined his image by letting his entourage hijack it on TV.

Nobody outside South Florida wants to see the Heat succeed, especially not in the very first season after LeBron James made “The Decision” to take his talents to South Beach.

But at least the Heat aren’t the Mavericks, and to Spurs fans, that means they aren’t owned by Mark Cuban.

Cuban never has played one second of a single NBA game, but many Spurs fans deem him evil incarnate.

This proves his marketing genius. As provocateur, the NBA never has seen his like.

This is why some Spurs fans swear they won’t watch a minute of the Finals. They can’t stomach the notion that either James or Cuban will get to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

This attitude is foolish.

This is a matchup with players who someday will be recalled among the game’s best ever.

And storylines? There are plenty.

Can the Mavericks gain redemption five years after the 2006 collapse that followed their 2-0 Finals lead over the Heat?

If James wins his very first title, will he or his sycophants lay claim to Michael Jordan’s widely accepted status as the greatest player in basketball history?

Will 38-year-old Jason Kidd and 33-year-old Dirk Nowitzki finally get the championship rings that will make their Hall of Fame careers complete?

Can Cuban really keep his mouth shut through the entire Finals?

The most compelling reason for fans from San Antonio to Timbuktu to watch the 2011 Finals: They are likely the last NBA games any of us will see for a very long time.

Even with viewership numbers for this playoff run breaking records and worldwide interest in NBA basketball surpassing even David Stern’s fondest imaginings, the league and its players’ union remain miles apart in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement that would prevent a work stoppage.

The owners presented a second proposal to the National Basketball Players Association a few weeks ago, but players to whom I’ve spoken recently are unanimous in their distaste for what they say remains an utterly unreasonable demand that the players give back most of the past 20 years’ gains of collective bargaining.

This is reflected in the recent complaint of unfair labor practices the NBPA filed with the National Labor Relations Board.

With another round of negotiations tentatively scheduled for sometime during the Dallas portion of the Finals, the complaint was clear indication the union does not intend to give in without a fight, even if it means enduring a lockout most players are convinced is coming on July 1.

Small-market owners such as the Spurs’ Peter Holt, who chairs the owners’ negotiating committee, will point out that between them, the Mavericks and Heat will pay their players more than $151 million this season. They contend this proves that liberal salary cap exceptions must be replaced.

Should Cuban’s Mavericks win the title, how will he feel about the prospect his team may not get a chance to defend it before Kidd turns 40?

Even Cuban might be willing to sip from that ugly-ass, muddy-watered thing if it meant that wouldn’t happen.

mikemonroe@express-news.net

Nowitzki leads late rally as Mavs tie series 1-1

By BRIAN MAHONEY
Associated Press

MIAMI — Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks put a stunning end to their misery in Miami.

Now they can win their first NBA title without ever coming back to South Florida.

Nowitzki made the tie-breaking layup with 3.6 seconds left, and the Mavericks roared back from 15 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Heat 95-93 on Thursday night and tie the NBA finals at one game apiece.

Capping a furious rally by scoring Dallas’ final nine points, Nowitzki made two late baskets left-handed — despite a torn tendon on that non-shooting hand. He finished with 24 points.

Dwyane Wade had 36 points for Miami, but his desperation 3-pointer was off at the buzzer.

“I thought defensively we really got into them,” Nowitzki said of the rally. “We pressured them full court and we scrambled defensively. We even gave up some offensive rebounds, but we kept scrambling.”

Game 3 is Sunday in Dallas.

Seemingly out of the game when the Heat led 88-73 with 7:15 remaining, Dallas held the Heat to just one field goal from there, a 3-pointer by Mario Chalmers with 24.5 seconds that tied it just 2 seconds after Nowitzki’s 3 had made it 93-90.

But after a timeout, Jason Kidd ran the clock down before getting the ball to Nowitzki, who drove into the lane, spun back to the left and made the layup.

Jason Terry, largely silent since the first half of Game 1, fueled the comeback with a couple of jumpers and finished with 16 points. Shawn Marion had 20 points for the Mavericks, who had lost four straight finals games in Miami since taking a 2-0 lead in the 2006 series.

They were about to go down 2-0 this time before Nowitzki, who insisted his injured finger wouldn’t hinder him, led a rally even more amazing than the one that won Game 4 of the Western Conference finals, when the Mavs trailed Oklahoma City by 15 in the fourth quarter before pulling it out in overtime.

LeBron James scored 20 points for the Heat.

He and Wade were running by and over the older Mavs for three quarters, and it appeared the only thing that could slow them down was that big trophy they would soon be holding.

Not so fast.

Wade angered the Mavs, particularly Terry, when he held his follow through after his 3-pointer from the corner with 7:15 left capped a 13-0 run and made it 88-73.

The Heat suddenly went cold, holding the ball too long on possessions and forcing James and Wade to attempt long jumpers with the shot clock winding down, instead of playing to their strengths and driving into the lane.

A series of those missed jumpers eventually ended with the Mavs getting possession, and Nowitzki making a layup that tied it at 90 with 57 seconds to play.

The Heat lost for the first time in 10 games at home in the playoffs and will have to win at least once in Dallas to force the series back here.