Miami Heat Blog – Page 118 – NBA Blog

Peja Stojakovic has disappeared in Finals

Calvin Watkins of ESPN reports:

Peja Stojakovic was one of the more dangerous shooters during his prime.

Now 33, he has provided only a few fleeting moments.

In his first NBA Finals, Stojakovic is struggling mightily. A liability on defense, Stojakovic scored his first points of the series Sunday night but isn’t making shots like he used to. He was benched for all but four seconds of the second half in Game 3. He was on the court for the last shot — a miss by Dirk Nowitzki — in the Mavs’ 88-86 loss to the Miami Heat.

Stojakovic finished 1-for-2 from the field with two points in just over six minutes of action.

After NBA Finals Game 3 win, LeBron James answers reporter question about shrinking in 4th quarters

By Jeff Lenchiner

After the Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks 88-86 on the road to take a 2-1 lead in the 2011 NBA Finals, Heat stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade did their usual shared post-game press conference. A somewhat challenging question was posed by a reporter to LeBron, who gave a pretty solid response. Here’s how it went:

Reporter: “LeBron, three games in a row for you, fourth quarter. Not much. That’s the moment superstars become superstars. Seems like you’re almost shrinking from it. What’s going on?”

LeBron James: “I think you’re concentrating on one side of the floor. And all you’re looking at is the stat-sheet. Honestly, I’m a two-way player. Tonight, D-Wade had it going offensively, so we allowed him to handle the ball. We allowed him to bring us home offensively. You [could] just watch the film again and see what I did defensively. And you ask me a better question tomorrow.”

(LeBron then covered his mouth, possibly to hide some laughter.)

Wade was spectacular tonight and finished the game shooting 12-of-21 for 29 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. LeBron shot just 6-of-14 for a quiet 17 points, just three rebounds, but nine assists. And very good defense. The Mavericks shot just 40 percent in the loss. Mavs small forward Shawn Marion hit a mere 4-of-12 shots for 10 points and little else.

The basic premise of the question actually was legitimate in the opinion of InsideHoops.com, in that LeBron has not scored much in the fourth quarters of the three 2011 NBA Finals games that have been played so far.

VIDEO CLIP

Read fan reaction and share your own opinion in this forum topic.

Nowitzki rallies Mavs to beat Heat in Game 2

The AP reports:

Dirk Nowitzki shook off an injury to his non-shooting hand and made the tie-breaking layup with 3.6 seconds left, and the Mavericks roared back from 15 points down in the fourth quarter to stun the Miami Heat 95-93 on Thursday night and tie the series at one game apiece.

“You can just sense it in us that we weren’t going to give up, we were going to be resilient,” Dallas guard Jason Terry said.

Capping a furious rally by scoring Dallas’ final nine points, Nowitzki made two late baskets left-handed—despite a torn tendon on his middle finger. He finished with 24 points, saying the finger felt fine…

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

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…

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…

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. Though the Mavs said they were bothered by the Heat’s actions, James and Wade—who have already endured plenty of criticism for premature partying— denied that was the case this time…

Wade became the Heat’s career leader in postseason games with his 83rd. He had been tied with Alonzo Mourning. Teammate Udonis Haslem is third with 74 appearances. … Mavs backup center Brendan Haywood committed a foul 47 seconds into the fourth quarter and went immediately to the locker room with an apparent injury. … Miami has held opponents below 100 points in 16 of 17 games this postseason.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Mike Miller and Mario Chalmers interviews between NBA Finals games 1 and 2

The Miami Heat lead the Dallas Mavericks 1-0 in the 2011 NBA Finals. Here’s what Mavs guard Jason Terry said on a practice day between games 1 and 2:

MIKE MILLER

Question: What is it about the home identity that you guys have?

Miller: We hope to keep that streak alive. It’s big, especially in the playoffs. Protect home court. Feed off the energy of the crowd. It’s a great place to play right now.

Question: What has changed the last six months that you guys have been so successful in fourth quarters these days?

Miller: It took time to grow. Obviously we’re still learning each other for the most part. Fourth quarter, our defense has been great so far. Big stops in the fourth quarter.

Question: Any problems with your shoulder?

Miller: Old age. No, I’m fine. There’s no effects.

Question: Did you guys work much on the zone?

Miller: A little bit. Obviously they play their zone. We play inside-out on the zone. Try to offensive rebound.

Question: Speaking of rebounds, you guys have been middle of the pack all season. Plus-10 last night.

Miller: Obviously for us, it limits their second chance points. Also gives us second chance points of our own. That’s big for us. We have to keep working on that as the series moves on.

Question: And they’re big.

Miller: They’re big and athletic.

MARIO CHALMERS

Question: Now being able to close out in the second half of fourth quarters, how have you guys been able to change what was happening earlier in the season?

Chalmers: Just focus in later. Let our defense step it up late and be our offense.

Question: Is there something in the Mavs’ defense you guys felt you could exploit?

Chalmers: Any time a team goes to the zone, you know you have an open look. Yesterday we were knocking them down.

Question: On the other side of that, did you guys work on the zone offense?

Chalmers: Not today. We didn’t. We talked about key points we can do.

Question: Is there anything magical happening here? You guys haven’t lost here in Miami during the playoffs.

Chalmers: Our fans. I think it’s our fans. They come out every night supporting us, cheering us loud and providing us with that extra energy.

Question: Can you talk about the confidence you have to take shots?

Chalmers: It’s good. It shows my teammates trust me. I want them to keep trusting me, keep working on that shot and keep trying to knock it down.

Jason Terry mini-interview between NBA Finals Games 1 and 2

The Miami Heat lead the Dallas Mavericks 1-0 in the 2011 NBA Finals. Here’s what Mavs guard Jason Terry said on a practice day between games 1 and 2:

Question: Jason, what adjustment are you going to make against LeBron for Game 2?

Jason Terry: Defensively, we have to be up and into him. Offensively I think he guarded me in the second half. We’re just going to be a lot more active. Looking for opportunities in transition. And then other than that, stand in the corner and let him guard me. I don’t want to give away all my secrets.

Question: Tyson was talking about how Miami lured you into their tempo in Game 1. What do you have to do to adjust that in Game 2?

Terry: We have to look for early opportunities and rebound the ball. When you give up as many points we did on second chance opportunities, then that doesn’t allow us to get into our transition game. So we’ve seen that on the film. It was a glaring stat. And it’s something that if we want to hoist that trophy up in the end, we’re going to have to get that corrected quickly.

Question: Jason, did you see when Dirk got hurt? Or did you notice that it affected him in any way?

Terry: No, it didn’t affect him. I seen when it happened. He swiped down. It was his left hand. He don’t use that anyway.

Question: Jason, how much has LeBron guarded you in the past?

Terry: Never, really. It was a big adjustment, something we weren’t prepared for. We seen it, we made our adjustment and we’ll be prepared in Game 2.

Question: Had you seen what he had done against Derrick Rose in the past and other guys? Can you talk about his ability to stay with smaller guys.

Terry: You know, with him he has a size advantage and he uses his strength very well. But he’s still quick. He’s still quick enough to kind of stay in front of you. But, again, this was the first time we’ve seen it against us. And so now we know what to do and make our adjustment. We’ll see if it works.

Shaq announces retirement

The AP reports:

Shaquille O’Neal, who struggled to get on the court for the Boston Celtics because of leg injuries, said on Twitter on Wednesday that he is going to retire after a 19-year career in which he won four NBA titles and the 2000 league Most Valuable Player award.

O’Neal sent a tweet shortly before 2:45 p.m. saying, “im retiring.” It included a link to a 16-second video in which he says, “We did it; 19 years, baby. Thank you very much. That’s why I’m telling you first: I’m about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon.”

An inveterate prankster who gave himself a new nickname — or several — in each of his six NBA cities, the 15-time all-star did not notify his latest team of his plans. He played just 37 games this year, the first of a two-year deal at the veteran’s minimum salary, making just three brief appearances after Feb. 1.

“To my knowledge, he has not informed any of us that he’s retiring,” Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss said.

If he goes, O’Neal retires fifth all-time with 28,596 points, 12th with 13,099 rebounds and second only to Artis Gilmore among players with more than 2,000 baskets with a .582 field goal percentage.

Read fan reaction and share your own opinion in this forum topic.

LeBron scores 24, Heat take Finals Game 1 over Mavs

The AP reports:

LeBron James scored 24 points for his first win in five NBA finals games, Dwyane Wade scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half and the Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks 92-84 in Game 1 of the title series on Tuesday night—holding the Western Conference champions to their lowest point total of the playoffs after a dominant defensive showing down the stretch…

Dirk Nowitzki(notes) scored 27 points—tearing a tendon in the middle finger on his left, non-shooting, hand during the game and revealing afterward that he’ll likely wear a splint throughout the remainder of the series—and grabbed eight rebounds for Dallas, which got 16 points and 10 rebounds from Shawn Marion(notes) and 12 points from Jason Terry(notes), most of those coming in an early flurry. It was Dallas’ fifth straight loss to Miami in finals games, dating to the Heat rally for the 2006 crown.

Dallas held the Heat to 39 percent shooting, Miami’s second-worst showing of the playoffs.

Problem was, the Mavericks shot 37 percent—by far, their worst night of the postseason offensively…

Miami outrebounded Dallas 46-36, got a gritty effort on both ends from reserve Mike Miller(notes)—who left with his left arm in a sling, but insisted he would be fine—and reaped rewards again from another strong fourth-quarter finish by Wade and James…

Bosh scored 19 points and Mario Chalmers(notes) added 12 for the Heat. The Heat trailed by eight points early in the third quarter before pulling away, remaining unbeaten—now 9-0—at home in these playoffs and snapping Dallas’ five-game road postseason winning streak.

Dallas had 51 points after 26 minutes. The Mavericks scored 18 points in the next 18 minutes, 33 over the remainder of the game, as Miami’s defense found another gear.

Reuters reports:

Miami’s Udonis Haslem has the assignment of guarding Nowitzki and said his job is to “try to make it tough” for the 32-year-old German.

“He’s a great player,” Haslem said. “He’s going to make his shots. You can’t get discouraged. You’ve got to keep going and keep chipping away at it.”

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said he was unsure how to stop Nowitzki, who entered the game with a 28.4 average in the post-season.

“I don’t think it really matters what you do, your schematics, who is defending him, he’s going to get his average at least every single game,” he said.

The Sports Network reports:

Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki said he tore a finger tendon in his non-shooting hand during Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday.

Nowitzki and the Mavs lost the game, 92-84, after LeBron James and the Heat pulled away in the second half.

He was injured late in the fourth quarter as he lunged with his left hand to swipe the ball from Miami’s Chris Bosh in the paint. He said he couldn’t straighten his finger out after the play.

Live fan discussion of the game took place in this forum topic.

Heat hold four players out of contact during Sunday practice

The AP reports:

Heat star Dwyane Wade and reserves Udonis Haslem, Mike Miller and James Jones were held out of contact portions of Sunday’s practice.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says they all will practice fully Monday. Miami hosts Game 1 of the NBA finals against Dallas on Tuesday night.

Spoelstra says the moves were given to ensure that everyone is “healthy going into this.”

American Airlines sponsors both 2011 NBA Finals arenas

The AP reports:

If you’re a basketball fan, you’ll hear the name American Airlines a lot over the next couple weeks.

American slapped its name on the arenas of both teams playing in the NBA finals back when stadium naming rights were a hot commodity—the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami and the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

So whether the Miami Heat or the Dallas Mavericks win the title, American figures to get a lot of TV time. The same thing happened in 2006, when the Heat defeated the Mavericks in six games.

American bought the naming rights to those arenas a decade ago. According to published reports at the time, which American wouldn’t confirm or deny, it agreed to pay $195 million over 30 years for the Dallas rights and $42 million over 20 years in Miami.

Stadium-naming rights were trendy then, and they reached a fever pitch in 2006 when Citigroup agreed to pay $20 million a year to christen the New York Mets’ new baseball home Citi Field when it opened a couple of years ago. But sports sponsorships became harder to sell during the recession, and the business hasn’t fully recovered.

Carlos Boozer bought South Beach condo in March

Brian Bandell of the South Florida Business Journal reports:

Carlos Boozer is taking his bags to South Beach – where he has a new condo with a closer view of the Miami Heat team that sent his Chicago Bulls packing from the playoffs.

The NBA power forward paid $2.35 million to BC Tower 8, a company managed by David Phillips, for a 4,135-square-foot unit at the Residences at the Bath Club, at 5959 Collins Ave. Boozer took out a $1.76 million mortgage with Charles Schwab Bank.

The deed was signed March 29, although it wasn’t recorded in county records until May 3.

That means Boozer bought the condo well before the Bulls started their playoff series against the Heat. Boozer took a jab at the Heat going into the series by referencing the “Big Two” – a swipe at Miami forward Chris Bosh.