Simply amazing! Dirk leads Mavs to unbelievable Game 2 comeback over Heat

Dirk was at his best late in propelling the Mavericks over the Heat in astounding fashion.

I have finals to study for, and other projects to do as well, but some finishes to sporting events just beg to be written about. Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks was one of those games.

I went into my room to hit the books before the fourth quarter began. The game was close, but Miami was in control, and I didn’t want to waste my time watching a game I thought they would certainly win.

About twenty minutes later, my Dad came in to give me an update. The Heat had held a 15-point lead, 88-73, with just over seven minutes left, but now it was just two, 90-88. Less than three minutes remained, and Dallas was in possession as I entered the living room. The feeling was unbelievable. There it was: a silent arena, shell-shocked Heat, and determined Mavericks.

This didn’t seem plausible. Fifteen points trimmed to two against LeBron James and Dwyane Wade? Then Dallas didn’t face a deficit. After a wild game of volleyball between the two teams, the brilliant Shawn Marion dished a breakaway pass to Dirk Nowitzki, who finished with his left and injured hand. Ninety-all. What was thought improbable minutes earlier now had a chance to be reality.

Dallas’s defense continued to be suffocating. Wade, who had been on fire for Miami, missed a three-pointer. Nowitzki showed him how it’s done, taking advantage of poor rotation by the Heat to swish a three from the top. The Mavericks led by three, 26 seconds remaining. Was this really happening?

Miami was having a nightmare, and Dallas was dreaming. All the Mavericks had to do was play excellent defense for one more possession, but they didn’t. Instead, off the inbounds play, Mario Chalmers was left wide-open in the corner, and he proceeded to have a flashback to his NCAA Tournament days with Kansas. The crowd went wild. The Heat weren’t dead yet.

Then they were. Nowitzki happened. He has never watched the tape of the Mavericks 2006 NBA Finals loss to Wade’s Heat. He had trouble getting over that defeat, and he wasn’t about to go down 0-2 again. He was in ‘give me the ball and get out of my way’ mode.

Dirk was being Dirk, as one of the best scorers in NBA history was about to finish off one of the best comebacks in NBA history. Dallas was in possession in the closing seconds, with Jason Kidd draining clock and waiting for the right time to feed Nowitzki. The German forward came off a screen, bodied against Chris Bosh, spun towards the hoop, and flipped in a left-handed layup. What injury? What certain defeat? The Mavs, after Wade’s heave clanged at the buzzer, had pulled off a miracle.

I’ll be hard to better this game, as it was a 22-5 finish. And with the next three games in Dallas and momentum on their side, it’ll be tough for Miami to make this a series. Good. Now I can go back to studying.

(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)