Dallas – The temperature reached nearly 100 degrees in the Dallas area Sunday. But for Shaquille O’Neal, Dwyane Wade and the rest of the Miami Heat, it was much hotter in the air-conditioned American Airlines Center.
The Dallas Mavericks cooled the Heat in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, leading by as many as 27 points while cruising to a 99-85 victory. The Mavericks have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, with the next three games in Miami. Since the NBA adopted the 2-3-2 format for the Finals in 1985, the nine teams that won Games 1 and 2 at home went on to win the series.
“We have to stay focused,” said Dallas forward Dirk No- witzki, who had game highs of 26 points and 16 rebounds. “We really haven’t done anything. We won two games at home.”
Sunday, O’Neal had his worst offensive performance in a Finals game in the six series he has played, scoring a playoff career-low five points. He sat the final 15:13 of the game and declined to speak to the media after the game. The NBA fined him $10,000 for not speaking to the media and fined the Heat $25,000 for not making him available.
“(O’Neal’s) frustrated,” said Heat forward Antoine Walker, who had 20 points. “He’s a guy that likes to get involved in the game. They are doing a good job of double-teaming him.”
O’Neal, a three-time Finals MVP, made 2-of-5 shots from the field, missed 6-of-7 free throws and had six rebounds in 27 minutes. His previous scoring low in the Finals was 14 points in Game 4 against Detroit in 2004. O’Neal’s low scoring output in Game 2 was only third time in 26 games that he scored fewer than 20 points.
“I’m sure he’ll bounce back,” Wade said.
Despite scoring a team-high 23 points, Wade missed 13-of-19 shots and committed four turnovers. His frustration spilled over with 36.8 seconds left in the second quarter as he was called for a technical foul by referee Steve Javie after voicing his displeasure. Wade has been hampered by the flu and believes he will recover to have his best game Tuesday night.
“(The Mavs) did what they did last game,” Wade said, “came out trying to blitz the pick-and-roll more instead of laying back. But obviously, I missed some shots that I normally hit. But I was still aggressive.”
James Posey’s 3-pointer trimmed Dallas’ lead to 90-78 with 4:05 left in the fourth quarter. Despite being outscored 27-17 in the fourth, the Mavericks didn’t let their big victory get away.
“You’ve got a 24-point lead; you’re in the Finals,” Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. “No one is going to pack it in and go home.”
The Heat could use a change of venue. Miami is 8-1 at home with five consecutive wins. But Dallas is 6-3 on the road in the postseason and won 103-90 on Nov. 25 in the Mavs’ lone visit to Miami in the regular season.
“What we’ll have to change in Miami is obviously we have to play … a lot better than we played it here in Dallas,” Miami coach Pat Riley said. “And definitely, whatever adjustments we make the next couple of days have to work. So we’re going home. We’ve got three in a row at home.
“There’s no guarantees that’s going to make a difference unless you really come out to play.”
Nowitzki said of the Heat: “We know they are a different animal at home. They are obviously going to be fired up. Shaq and Dwyane, they are going to get their troops ready to play.”
Staff writer Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-820-5449 or mspears@denverpost.com.
