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Champion Mavericks arrive home in Dallas

The AP reports:

The Dallas Mavericks returned home in triumph on Monday, cheered by hundreds of fans celebrating the franchise’s first NBA title and the first professional championship of any kind in the area in more than a decade.

Owner Mark Cuban walked off the plane at Love Field carrying the championship trophy he was handed after Sunday’s Game 6 win over the Miami Heat.

Next came forward Dirk Nowitzki with hardware of his own: The NBA finals MVP trophy that was awarded after he overcame a finger injury, illness and smothering defense from the Heat to power fourth-quarter comeback wins…

The team charter passed under a water cannon salute after it landed. Cuban, a cigar in his mouth, walked off first, followed by Nowitzki, both holding the trophies high. They then went across the runway to a security fence, touching off a celebration that lasted about 30 minutes and allowing fans who spent hours waiting in 90-degree heat to get a taste of the title.

Cuban eventually handed off the championship trophy to members of the team, who walked along the fence as fans held cell phone high to take photos. As Nowitzki was driven away, he held the MVP trophy aloft through the sun roof of his sport utility vehicle.

Details have not been announced on a celebration parade. Cuban repeated Monday that he will personally pay for the event.

Mavs beat Heat 105-95 in Game 6 to win 2011 NBA championship

The AP reports:

For Dirk Nowitzki, the resume is complete. He’s an NBA champion.

For LeBron James, the agonizing wait continues for at least one more year.

A season that began with Miami celebrating the signings of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh—along with the promise of championships—ended on the very same floor, with the Dallas Mavericks hoisting the title trophy for the first time in their franchise history after beating the Heat 105-95 on Sunday night. The Mavericks won four of the series’ last five games, a turnabout that could not have been sweeter.

“I really still can’t believe it,” said Nowitzki, who had 21 points and took home finals MVP honors.

He and Jason Terry, who led the Mavs with 27 points, were the two remaining players from the Dallas team that lost to Miami in the 2006 finals.

“Tonight,” Terry said, “we got vindication.”

James did not. Not even close, and a year unlike any other ended they way they all have so far—with him still waiting for an NBA title.

He scored 21 points for Miami, shook a few hands afterward, and departed before most of the Mavs tugged on their championship hats and T-shirts. Bosh had 19, Mario Chalmers 18 and Wade 17 for the Heat.

The AP reports:

LeBron James said losing the NBA finals to the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday felt like a “personal failure,” but he refused to let it bother him that so many people were happy to see him falter.

James’ first finals with the Miami Heat ended Sunday with the Mavericks’ 105-95 victory in Game 6. James started strong and wilted at the finish, just the way the Heat did in the series.

The AP reports:

Mark Cuban zipped his lips and won a championship.

And when it was time for his old nemesis David Stern to hand him the shiny gold trophy, this was his big chance to say anything he wanted, with everyone watching.

So, what did he do?

He stood behind a 78-year-old man and let him take center stage, a reward for Donald Carter having founded the team 31 long years ago. He brought his wife and three kids on the podium to enjoy the moment. He even realized how corny he was being when he told his toddler son, “This could be yours.”

Then, out came the Mark Cuban most sports fans remember.

He swore in multiple TV interviews to emphasize how proud he was of his fans. He walked into a postgame news conference talking on the phone, hung up and hollered, “Did anybody inform you guys, we’re the world champions?!” On his way out, he took the trophy with him and declared it was spending the night in his room.

The AP reports:

The Mavericks took control in the second half of the game after some wild momentum shifts in the opening two quarters. Miami took its last lead of the game just 64 seconds into the second half, lost it 16 seconds later and chased the Mavericks the rest of the way.

Nowitzki sealed the win with 2:27 left, hitting a jumper near the Miami bench to put Dallas up 99-89. He then walked to the Mavs’ side slowly, right fist clenched above his head.

“This is a true team,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “This is an old bunch. We don’t run fast or jump high. These guys had each other’s backs. We played the right way. We trusted the pass. This is a phenomenal thing for the city of Dallas.”

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.

The AP reports:

Dirk Nowitzki has been named Most Valuable Player of the NBA finals for his huge role in leading the Dallas Mavericks to their first championship.

Although the German star struggled in the Mavericks’ Game 6 victory on Sunday, he certainly put them in position to win it all, overcoming injury and illness to power fourth-quarter comebacks from deficits of 12, nine and four points in Dallas’ previous wins.

The AP reports:

Nowitzki missed 11 of his first 12 shots and matched his series low with 21 points, yet with Jason Terry scoring 27 and every starter and reserve making some sort of significant contribution, the Mavericks beat the Miami Heat 105-95 Sunday night to wrap up the first title in franchise history.

The difference-makers were everywhere: from Ian Mahinmi with his step-back jumper and third quarter buzzer-beater to DeShawn Stevenson and his three 3-pointers in the first half; from Brian Cardinal making a 3 and drawing a charge to J.J. Barea improving to 3-0 as a starter.

Fake DeShawn Stevenson Facebook pages causes confrontation with Rick Carlisle

Tim MacMahon of ESPN reports:

DeShawn Stevenson does not have a Facebook page.

That’s newsworthy because somebody who claims to be Stevenson posted on Facebook: “I told em Lebron is Overrated but did they listen? swag.”

Coach Rick Carlisle caught wind of that and confronted Stevenson, telling him to stop talking trash about LeBron James. Stevenson, whose history of taking verbal jabs at King James goes back several years, was confused and told his coach that the latest comment didn’t come from him.

“There’s like 37 people that are acting like me on Facebook,” Stevenson said. “I mean, if you look at me and look at all these tattoos, do you think I’d be sitting on the Internet and typing? C’mon, man. Sometimes you’ve got to look at a person. I would not be in my house on a computer typing nothing about anybody.”

Dwyane Wade says hip will be fine for NBA Finals Game 6

Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports:

Two days after bruising his left hip in Thursday’s Game 5 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in these NBA Finals, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade was back on the court at practice Saturday at AmericanAirlines Arena, moving without visible discomfort.

Wade shot 3-pointers with teammates during the portion of practice opened to the media, wearing no additional padding or bracing on the hip.

Coach Erik Spoelstra said Wade did not participate in contact work Saturday.

“He went through the walkthrough part of our practice,” he said.

Wade said it was a collective decision to hold him out of the contact portion of practice.

“Just another day to get in treatment and getting rest,” he said, “but I’ll be totally fine when it comes to tomorrow.”

Jason Terry has an NBA championship trophy tattoo

The AP reports:

Jason Terry put his faith in these Dallas Mavericks in ink. On the inside of his right biceps.

With one more win, he’ll get to keep his tattoo of the NBA’s championship trophy – plus have the real thing.

Terry had his title hopes injected into his arm in October, during a get-together at teammate DeShawn Stevenson’s house. At the start of the playoffs, Terry vowed to have it removed if the Mavericks didn’t win it all.

Thanks largely to him regaining his shooting touch in that inked-up arm, Terry and the Mavs flew to Miami on Friday closer to a title than ever before in franchise history. It could belong to them as soon as Sunday night.

“We put ourselves in the situation we wanted, to go back there with this opportunity,” center Tyson Chandler said. “But we can’t get too ahead of ourselves. We can’t get caught up in all the hoopla.”

Mavericks overcome LeBron triple-double, take 3-2 NBA Finals lead over Heat

The AP reports:

Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks finally have the lead in these ultra-close NBA finals, and now it really is “now or never” for LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

Nowitzki scored 29 points, driving for the go-ahead dunk with 2:45 remaining, and the Mavericks beat the Heat 112-103 on Thursday night to take a 3-2 lead in the NBA finals…

James, who called this game “now or never,” responded from his worst playoff performance with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and Dwyane Wade battled through a sore left hip after a first-quarter collision to finish with 23 points…

The Mavs shot 60 percent through three quarters, briefly gave up the lead in the fourth, then controlled the final few minutes, just as they had in thrilling comebacks in Games 2 and 4…

Terry scored 21 points and J.J. Barea had 17 for the Mavs, with Nowitzki briefly throwing both arms in the air as he walked off the court surrounded by a sea of blue fans who hope he’ll bring home a championship trophy if they can pull out another victory in Miami…

The Mavs tied it at 100 on Terry’s 3-pointer with 3:23 left, and after James missed, Nowitzki drove for a baseline dunk and a 102-100 lead with 2:45 to go. James was called for an offensive foul and missed a 3-pointer on Miami’s next two possessions before Kidd drilled a 3-pointer to make it 105-100, sending the crowd into a delirious chant of “Beat the Heat! Beat the Heat!” …

Wade walked gingerly to the locker room with a left hip contusion with about 3 minutes left in the period after colliding with Mavs reserve Brian Cardinal on a drive to the basket, and didn’t return to the bench until more than 3 minutes into the second. But the Heat hung in while he was gone, even taking a 31-30 lead when the Mavs turned it over on their final possession and Mario Chalmers threw in a heave from just inside midcourt to beat the buzzer, nearly a duplicate of the finish of the first quarter in Game 3 that stunned Dallas.

Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald reports:

The Heat shot 53 percent in the third quarter but was outscored 24-22. Barea provided the spark for the Mavericks in the third quarter, leading his team with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting and 2 of 3 from three-point range. Dallas was 4 of 7 from three-point range in the third quarter.

Wade remained in the locker room after halftime and didn’t emerge until less than five minutes remained in the period. He entered the game with 4:33 left in the quarter but managed to contribute a field goal. Wade entered the fourth quarter with 13 points while Bosh, James and Mario Chalmers each had 15.

The drama of the first half simply seemed like an extension of the exciting conclusion of Game 4. Mario Chalmers, of all people, kept the Heat in the game. His three-point shooting—4 of 6 from behind the arc — nearly matched the Mavericks’ effort as a team (5 of 7).

Chalmers, underappreciated among the Heat’s veteran roster, has played better than any point guard in the NBA Finals, including future Hall of Famer Jason Kidd. Chalmers finished the first and second quarters with clutch three-pointers, including a 40-footer at the first-quarter buzzer.

Despite sinus infection, Nowitzki, Mavs tie finals with Heat

The AP reports:

Dirk Nowitzki struggled through the first three quarters, then willed himself and his team at the end. He scored 10 of his 21 points and grabbed five of his 11 rebounds in the final period, lifting the Dallas Mavericks to an 86-83 victory over the Miami Heat on Tuesday night that ties the NBA finals at two games…

Now there’s this effort, when Nowitzki went from making his first three shots to missing 10 of his next 11. He also missed a free throw for the first time since Game 4 of the conference finals, ending a streak of 39 straight…

Then there was the LeBron James disappearing act.

“King James” made only 3 of 11 shots—a tip-in during the first quarter, then a 15-foot jumper and a breakaway dunk in the third quarter. Not only did he fail to score in the fourth, he took only one shot while playing all 12 minutes.

He finished with eight points, ending a double-figure scoring streak of 433 consecutive games, regular season and postseason. It was his fewest points ever in the playoffs.

It can’t be dismissed as one of those things because of how badly the Heat needed him when things were falling apart. Miami scored a series-low 14 points in the fourth quarter, committing six turnovers and making only 5 of 15 shots. They actually made their first two, so they missed 10 of their final 13…

Carlisle shook up Dallas’ lineup, starting J.J. Barea instead of DeShawn Stevenson, and made Brian Cardinal the primary backup for Nowitzki, instead of Peja Stojakovic. His changes worked out quite nicely.

Stevenson scored 11 points, his first time in double digits since Feb. 2. Cardinal drew a charge on James early and provided seven solid minutes, giving Nowitzki much-needed rest.

Terry scored 17, Shawn Marion 16 and Chandler had 13 points and 16 rebounds. Chandler also played a team-high 43 minutes because his backup, Brendan Haywood, lasted only 3:05 while trying to play through a hip injury that kept him out of Game 3.

Reuters reports:

James, averaging 17 points in the series while taking a backseat to Dwyane Wade on offense, hit just three-of-11 shots against the Mavericks on Tuesday.

“If I had had eight points and we won the game, I could be satisfied,” he said. “The fact I could have did more offensively to help our team, that’s the anger part about it.

“I’ll come back in Game Five and do things that needs to be done to help our team win.”

Miami forward Chris Bosh said James “struggled, point blank, period” and wants to see a return to his “laser-light focus.”

Dirk Nowitzki says Jason Terry needs to be more clutch in the Finals

The Dallas Mavericks trail the Miami Heat 2-1 in the 2011 NBA Finals. But if Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki had a bit more help, that Finals winning total might be reversed right now.

Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas reports:

Dirk Nowitzki needs scoring help and he knows teammate Jason Terry has yet to deliver in the NBA Finals.

Terry, the Dallas Mavericks’ charismatic sixth man who likes to bust out his arms like airplane wings after he makes 3-pointers and prides himself on cold-blooded shooting in the clutch, has found little breathing room with Miami Heat forward LeBron James shutting him out of the late-game offense.

“They keep sticking him [James] on Jet in the fourth quarters and he’s been doing a good job,” Nowitzki said. “Jet hasn’t really been a crunch-time, clutch player for us the way we need him to.”

Nowitzki scored 34 points in the 88-86 Game 3 loss and he scored the Mavs’ final 12 points of the game. Terry, the team’s second-leading scorer, was 0-of-4 from the floor in the fourth quarter of the disappointing home loss that put the Mavs in a 2-1 hole with Game 4 on Tuesday night at the American Airlines Center.

Terry is a combined 0-of-7 in the fourth quarters of the Mavericks’ two losses in the NBA Finals.

“They know to take me out of the fourth quarter, which they didn’t do in Game 2,” Terry said of the Heat’s choice to turn to James defensively, “then they got a good chance.”

Added Terry: “Let’s see if [James] can defend me like that for seven games.”

Dirk can’t do it alone. No player can. Terry is the team’s second-best scorer behind Nowitzki, and he’s going to have to step up when it matters most if Dallas is going to push forward.

LeBron says winning will take care of his legacy

LeBron James is great at winning regular season NBA games, but he’s still waiting for his first championship. And while the Miami Heat only lead the Dallas Mavericks two games to one in the ongoing NBA Finals, LeBron may not have to wait much longer.

It’s too early to discuss his “legacy” as a player, but when it’s all over, LeBron hopes to be associated with winning. Championships, presumably.

Reuters reports:

LeBron James bristled Monday at the idea his offensive prowess in the NBA Finals has been a disappointment and that his unwillingness to take charge down the stretch could ultimately affect his legacy.

The Miami Heat forward has averaged a modest 20.3 points and has been largely absent on offense in the fourth quarter but his team holds a 2-1 lead over the Dallas Mavericks.

James says all he wants to do is win.

“Anybody that knows me throughout the years, all I care about is the W,” he said. “I’m not just a scoring guy. I’ve got a lot of points in my career.

“I have had some team mates who have given me great confidence and ability to go out there and score a lot of points. But I’ve done other things.

“I don’t have to score points to be effective.”

Reuters continues:

“I just want to win,” he told reporters. “My individual stats will take care of itself. In a series I’ve averaged 38 points a game and we’ve lost in the Eastern Conference Finals against Orlando.

“This is a team game. My resume will speak for itself after I’m done with this game of basketball. What me and my team mates are trying to accomplish now is the only thing I’m worried about.

“When I’m done, I’ll let you guys figure where I should be placed.”

The Heat may be poised to rack up multiple championships over the next few years, so this discussion may change shape pretty soon.

Wade, Bosh lift Heat to 2-1 lead in NBA Finals

The AP reports:

Dwyane Wade kept soaring and scoring, doing everything he could to get the Miami Heat a crucial win towards an NBA title.

Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem provided the final push.

Bosh made a 16-foot, go-ahead jumper from the baseline with 39.6 seconds left and Haslem pestered Dirk Nowitzki the rest of the way as the Heat held on for an 88-86 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night for a 2-1 lead in the NBA finals…

The Heat recovered to lead 81-74 with 6:31 left. Everyone knew the Mavericks’ comeback bid would be in Nowitzki’s hands, but it didn’t matter. He still scored 12 straight points—six free throws, a layup, a dunk and a tough jumper—tying it at 86.

With under a minute to go, Wade got the ball to LeBron James near the top of the key. Haslem screened Nowitzki while Bosh got set, took the pass from James and ripped it through the net, quite a thrill for the Dallas native who’d been 0-8 in his hometown. It was even more impressive considering his left eyelid was swollen because of an accidental poke by Jason Kidd in the first quarter, and he’d been misfiring all series, even when his vision was good…

“Emotional game, fought back, and to fall short at the end is tough,” said Nowitzki who scored 34 points. “But they need two more. Hopefully we can play a better all-around game and finally get some shots to go down.”

Wade made 12 of 21 shots and was at his dynamic best from the start, looking like the guy who lifted the Heat past Dallas and to the title in ’06…

Wade and Bosh each scored seven points in the fourth quarter. Bosh finished with 18 points.

James came in talking about being more aggressive, but wasn’t. He went more than 6 minutes before taking his first shot, but certainly made it worth the wait—a drive through the teeth of the defense for a powerful dunk. He also had a two-handed jam in the second half that put Miami up by 13.

He finished with 17 points and nine assists. He also had four turnovers, including a pair during the fourth quarter—not counting the shot-clock violation—that helped bring Dallas back.

Nowitzki scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, but didn’t get much help, in the period or the rest of the game.

Terry scored 15 and Shawn Marion had 10. Both were shut out in the fourth quarter. The only other scorers were backup point guard J.J. Barea early in the quarter and Tyson Chandler dunking off a rebound.

For the game, Nowitzki made 11 shots, the rest of the Mavericks 17.