NBA Finals 2011: Miami Heats Nightmare Finish Against Dallas Mavericks

Hurricane season in South Florida kicked off yesterday, and the first storm may have occurred during a five-minute stretch at the American Airlines Arena that saw the Miami Heat blow right past the Dallas Mavericks and build a seemingly insurmountable 15-point lead.

Then came the rest of the fourth quarter, where the Mavericks unleashed a category-five storm on all of Miami.

The city, the fans and the players all left speechless. Dirk Nowizki and the Mavs had pulled the same jaw-dropping, heart-breaking kind of comeback that the Heat had done versus Chicago a week earlier.

Welcome to the NBA Finals, folks.

Where for the first time in history we may have David Stern and Mark Cuban both happy over the same thing at the same time.

Where as the Mavs now go back to Dallas thrilled at the prospect of having stolen home-court advantage. Miami has now opened the flood gates for all doubters and skeptics. Expect a splashy quote or two from every reporter that has dogged the Heat all season and picked against them every series since they faced Boston.

In essence, what happened Thursday night has to be viewed as both an embarrassment for the Heat and a much-needed miracle and confidence booster for the Mavericks.

Take both, put them together and it translates into an epic buildup for Game 3.

As Randy "Macho Man" Savage would've said "Ohhhh yeeeeeahh!"

This is what the Mavericks needed. It's what the league needed. Most of all it's what the haters needed.

The interest for Sunday's showdown should be such that I wouldn't be surprised if the NBA drew it's highest rating for a Finals in over 12 years.

The manner in which the game was played and ended will assure fans of seeing two teams at their absolute hungriest. The Mavs will be trying to build on their new-found momentum, where as the Heat will be looking for revenge.

That's the stuff that classics are made of and now we may very well be in store for a memorable series.

There is no way we don't get to a Game 6 at least. Miami won't take three in Texas, but they will take one, maybe two.

The dream scenario for league executives would be for the teams to split Games 3 and 4, which would set up a ratings bonanza for Game 5.

Am I the only Heat fan that sees the silver lining in all of this? Perhaps, but I didn't like the way things were going. It was too easy midway through the fourth quarter. Miami was striking poses, making faces and screaming like brand new prison bitches.

As a result, they let their guard down and got shown yet again that they're not as good as they think they are. Not yet, and at least not enough to go into cruise-control mode with over five minutes to play.

So now the stakes get higher. What do you got LeBron? What do you got Dwyane?

You have been humbled and shown yourselves to be vulnerable. This is where America will "witness" what you're made of. You wanted to be champions, you wanted to create a dynasty. Here's your chance.