The Miami Heat
(58-24) hosted the Dallas Mavericks
(57-25) for game two of the NBA Finals. The Heat were looking to take advantage of home court, and take a 2-0 lead heading back to Dallas till Dirk Nowitzki took over late in the fourth quarter. Dallas had a total of 18 turnovers to Miami’s 12, but still managed to keep it close down the stretch.
Dwayne Wade struck first with a layup to open the game only to have the Mavs answer with a 9-2 run that gave them a 9-4 lead. Dirk Nowitzki started the run with a jumper and DeShawn Stevenson finished it with a three-pointer. Wade ended the streak with a jumper, but Jason Kidd answered with a three-pointer for the Mavs to make it a 12-6 game.
Mike Bibby knocked down a three-pointer to start a Heat 10-1 run that gave them a 16-13 lead. During the run LeBron James hit a three-pointer that forced Dallas to take a timeout. Shawn Marion made a layup to end the run, but Bibby answered with another three-pointer for the Heat.
DeShawn Stevenson knocked down a three-pointer to get the Mavs within one-point 19-18. Tyson Chandler made a jumper to give the Mavs the lead, but the Heat took it back with a Dwayne Wade and LeBron James making buckets. Brendan Heywood made a hook shoot and Dirk Nowitzki made a jumper to give the Mavs a 24-23 lead.
Udonis Haslem made a jumper a jumper and LeBron James hit a three-pointer late. Shawn Marion made a pair of free-throws and J.J. Barea made a jumper to tie the game up at 28 points apiece.
LeBron James made a jumper to open the second quarter for the Heat then J.J. Barea made a layup and Shawn Marion made one also to give the Mavs a 32-30 lead. Mario Chalmers made a jumper to tie the game up only to have the Mavs answer with an 8-2 run that gave them a 40-34 lead. Dwyane Wade made back-to-back baskets to get the Heat within two-points, 40-38 before Dallas took a timeout.
Tyson Chandler made a tip-in basket, and DeShawn Stevenson made a three-pointer to give the Mavs a 45-40 lead. Dirk Nowitzki then made a pair of free-throws to give them a seven-point lead. LeBron James made a jumper to try and cut into the Mavs lead, but Chandler and Shawn Marion made layups to give them a 51-42 lead.
The Mavs then went cold over the last three-minutes of the half as the Heat took advantage. Mario Chalmers, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade all made free-throws to cut the Mavs lead down to three-points. Wade made a three-pointer with .25 seconds left to tie the game up at 51 points apiece going into halftime.
LeBron James opened the third quarter with a dunk and gave the Heat a 53-51 lead. The Heat scored the next four-points as they took a 57-52 lead that forced Dallas to take a timeout. Shawn Marion and Dirk Nowitzki made jumpers to get the Mavs within one-point. Dwyane Wade made a dunk that gave the Heat a 59-56 lead.
Mike Bibby made a three-pointer to push the Heat lead to 62-57. Shawn Marion made a pair of buckets to get the Mavs within three-points. Chris Bosh made a pair of free-throws and Mike Bibby hit a three-pointer that gave the Heat a 60-61 lead. Wade made some free-throws to give the Heat a ten-point lead, 71-61.
Dirk Nowitzki made a jumper to spark the Mavs on a 6-0 run that got them four-points. Mike Bibby made a jumper then Nowitzki answered with a jumper of his own. LeBron James made emphatic dunk with .18 seconds left that gave the Heat a 75-69 lead. Jason Terry answered with a jumper with .4 seconds left, but the Heat had a 75-71 lead going into the final period.
Shawn Marion made a jumper to open the fourth quarter then Dwyane Wade answered with the crowd jumping dunk that gave Miami a 77-73 lead. Mario Chalmers made a layup and Wade made a pair of free-throws to push the Heat lead to eight-points.
The points that were scored after the Marion jumper was part of a 13-0 run that gave them a 15-point lead. The lead hit 15-points after Dwyane Wade made a three-pointer in front of the Mavs bench. After Wade made the three-pointer it looked like he put the nail in the coffin, and he thought so to as he left his hand hanging there as he walked back to the Heats bench. LeBron James met him about halfway and began to punch him in the chest as the Mavs took a timeout.
After that the Heat went cold and their defensive pressure dropped. Jason Terry and Dirk Nowitzki then took over as Terry scored six straight points to cut the Heat lead to 88-79. Shawn Marion made a layup to get it within seven-points till LeBron answered with a pair of free-throws.
Jason Kidd made a three-pointer and Jason Terry made a jumper to make it a 90-86 game. Dirk Nowitzki made a jumper that cut the Heat lead down to two-points, 99-88. Nowitzki then made a layup and a three-pointer to give the Mavs their first lead of the fourth quarter 93-90. Mario Chalmers answered with a wide open three-pointer on a inbound play that tied the game up at 93 points apiece.
It was .24 second left in the game and the Mavs had the ball. They gave the ball to Nowitzki at the top of the key, and he drove on Chris Bosh to make the game winning layup. It was .03 seconds left and the Mavs had a 95-93 lead and Miami had no timeouts. So they threw the ball in quick and Dwyane Wade threw up desperation three and then laid on the floor looking for a foul after he missed it.
scored 24 points with 11 rebounds to lead the Mavs in scoring. Shawn Marion
added 20 points with eight rebounds with Tyson Chandler
scoring 13 points with seven rebounds. DeShawn Stevenson
scored nine points.
found his game as he scored eight of his 16 points in the finals period.
scored 36 points with six assists, five rebounds, three steals and 2 blocks to lead the Heat. LeBron James
added 20 points with eight rebounds and four assists and steals. Chris Bosh
scored 12 points and Mike Bibby had a big game from behind the arc with 14 points on 4-7 three-point shooting.
The Heat won the rebound and bench battle in Game one, but the Mavs won it this game. The Mavs grabbed 41 rebounds to the Heat’s 30 rebounds, and Mavs bench outscored the Heat’s bench 23 to 11.
Dallas managed to split the serious at one apiece as they head back to Dallas for three straight games. Game 3 will be played on Sunday, June 5, 2011 at 8:00 PM (EST) on ABC.