Dallas – The Heat wave was overwhelming in Dallas on Tuesday night.
The Miami Heat claimed its first NBA championship with a 95-92 victory Tuesday night over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. The Heat lost the first two Finals games in Dallas, but then won four straight to claim the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy at American Airlines Center.
“We knew inside that this team was built for the playoffs,” Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. “That’s what makes it sweet, because not at one moment did one of us not believe in each other.”
Wade earned Finals MVP honors by averaging 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists during the series. The fifth overall pick in the storied 2003 draft scored a game-high 36 points and had 10 rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocked shots in Game 6 in the Heat’s first win in Dallas since 2003.
“I’ve have not been around a player who can absolutely at times beat five guys, and then at the same time, make great plays,” said Miami’s Pat Riley, who earned his fifth NBA title as a coach, the other four with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Heat center Shaquille O’Neal, who earned his fourth NBA title, said: “Dwyane Wade is a very great player – very, very humble, keeps everybody involved, and he’s the reason I came to Miami.”
Although several members of the Heat earned their first championships, none had tougher journeys than Alonzo Mourning and Gary Payton.
Mourning is a 13-year NBA veteran who nearly didn’t return after missing the 2002-03 season with kidney disease. In celebration, Mourning sipped his first champagne since 2000.
“My doctor would give me (permission) for a day,” Mourning said.
Only John Stockton (1,504), Karl Malone (1,476) and Sam Perkins (1,286) had played more games without an NBA title than Payton (1,267) entering the game, but earning the title ended that distinction.
“They could end their careers knowing one day, when they lay their head down on the pillow, they will never have to worry about this one again,” Riley said. “This one has been taken care of.”
The Western Conference champion Mavericks probably will never forget how the series changed in the fourth quarter of Game 3. With a 2-0 lead in hand, Dallas blew a 13-point lead with 6:43 left in the fourth quarter. And Dallas didn’t win again.
“That will be debatable,” Dallas coach Avery Johnson said of how the Game 3 loss affected the Finals. “We were up, and we didn’t put a finish on it. Normally, we play really well in the fourth quarter.”
“If you look back at the Game 3 loss, it was a momentum changer,” said Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 29 points.
Jerry Stackhouse’s 3-pointer brought Dallas within 89-88 with 1:37 left in the fourth quarter in Game 6. After the teams exchanged baskets, the final minute of Game 6 arrived with Miami up 91-90.
While driving to the basket, Wade appeared to push off Nowitzki with his right arm. But Nowitzki was called for the foul, and Wade went back to the free-throw line with 26.2 seconds left.
Wade made both free throws to push Miami up 93-90. And after a turnover by Dallas’ Erick Dampier, Wade made two more free throws with 17.7 seconds remaining to give Miami a 95-90 lead.
Dallas’ Josh Howard sank two free throws with 11.5 seconds left to slice Miami’s lead to three. After being fouled again, Wade missed two free throws and Miami’s Udonis Haslem got the rebound on the second miss, but he traveled to keep Dallas’ hopes alive.
Dallas’ Jason Terry shot a 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left, but the ball bounced off the rim.
Fittingly, Wade got the rebound and ran out the clock en route to the Heat’s first title.
“After 18 years, and chasing, you keep chasing it, you get tired,” Riley said. “So this gives me a sense of absolute freedom from having to chase it, desperately chase it. So it’s definitely special.”
Said Wade: “Give Dallas a lot of credit. This is a good team; they will be back, no question about it. We wanted it and we took it.”
Staff writer Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-820-5449 or mspears@denverpost.com.
