- [Narrator] It's June 2, 2011.
Game Two of the NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks
and the Miami Heat, for whom victory
has long seemed inevitable, and yet with just seconds
on the clock, Dirk Nowitzki has a chance to break a tie
to put the Mavs ahead and on the verge
of stealing home court advantage.
Before Dirk gives it a shot, we should remember
what this moment represents, what he's up against,
and what this could do for his complex legacy.
We need to rewind.
(mysterious music)
The Mavs have the opportunity to do something novel,
beat these guys at home in the playoffs,
these guys specifically.
Sorry, Mario Chalmers and Udonis Haslem.
I'm not talking about you this time.
This summer, in case you haven't heard,
marked the formation of a new Big Three.
Three top five picks from the 2003 draft,
three decorated Olympic and All-Star teammates,
three guys who, technically speaking,
all received 2010 MVP votes.
Dwyane Wade had already cemented his place as the superstar
who helped bring the Heat their first championship.
He re-signed with Miami.
Chris Bosh, one of the best big men in basketball,
a five-time All-Star, grew tired of languishing
on the mediocre Toronto Raptors.
He joined the Heat in a sign and trade,
and then LeBron James signed,
the best player in basketball right now,
winner of the last two MVP awards.
In 2010, these guys had each been their team's best player.
Now they all played together.
The victory lap began immediately, the arena party,
the lights and flames, and "Yes We Did."
The arrogance is well, justified.
Yeah, Miami had a bad first month of the season.
Yeah, there was some gossip about coach Erik Spoelstra
and LeBron bumping into him and whatever,
players-only meetings, that kind of stuff.
No one remembers that s*** anymore because it's
the postseason now, and Miami has eaten everybody.
The Sixers' solid defense crumbled in five games,
the Celtics, reigning Eastern champions,
went down in five as well.
The Bulls, led by youngest MVP ever, Derrick Rose, five games.
Miami's romp through the East included nary a loss at home.
They are 9-0 in this building, and it's not just
that the Heat wreck shit at home.
It's how it looks and feels.
The Big Three come at you like a tidal wave.
It doesn't even take all three of them to overwhelm you.
In Finals Game One, for instance, Bosh was ice cold,
but James and Wade combined for a super-efficient 46 points.
When Dallas helped, those guys just kicked out
to Mike Miller and Mario Chalmers for open threes
or pounded the glass for putbacks.
These guys go on runs that'll make your teeth chatter.
Bosh has actually been even worse tonight,
but Wade and LeBron have commanded a couple
torrid scoring runs that had Mike Breen
just kind of shaking his head,
- [Mike] The Miami Heat, it's like they change gears
and you don't have an answer for them.
- [Narrator] Their latest onslaught was a 13-0 run
to begin this fourth quarter.
With just over seven minutes remaining,
Wade buried this three, then posed in front of
the Dallas bench as the crowd embraced a 15 point lead.
Breen smelled doom.
- [Mike] A 13-0 run and Miami in control
with 7:14 remaining.
- [Narrator] And who could blame him?
This lead with this little time left, it was game over,
and honestly, series over.
Of the last 16 teams to take a 2-0 Finals lead,
15 finished the job, which brings us to the Mavericks.
They are the 16th team in that stat I just mentioned.
(videotape whirring)
Five years ago in 2006, Dallas held a 2-0 NBA Finals lead
over these very same Miami Heat.
Well, not exactly the same.
LeBron and Bosh weren't on that team,
but Shaquille O'Neal was.
Shaq retired today, but yeah, the Mavericks squandered
that 2-0 lead and blew the '06 Finals.
Ever since, they've been fighting to avenge
that devastating Finals outcome, and the Mavs
are a resilient bunch.
This team in particular embodies the spirit of the comeback.
This season's lineup weathered some hits.
Dirk Nowitzki missed a couple weeks with an injured knee.
Starting small forward Caron Butler went down
with a season-ending injury in January.
These Mavs lost six straight at one point,
their worst slump in over a decade.
Then they turned around and won 10 straight soon after,
and here in the playoffs, comebacks remain a theme,
digging holes of despair then climbing out.
Dallas blew a 23-point lead and lost Game Four
of their first round series against the Blazers.
The stench of upset filled the air.
Then Dallas won seven straight games
to close out that series and the next one,
a conference semi-final sweep of the Lakers.
Of Dallas's 12 playoff wins to date,
four included a fourth quarter comeback.
Just 10 days ago, Dallas was in deep trouble.
Kevin Durant's three-pointer gave the Oklahoma City Thunder
a 15-point lead with five minutes remaining in Game Four
of the Western Conference Finals.
Dallas stared down a potential 2-2 series tie,
but Shawn Marion's block on Durant punctuated a rally
to force overtime in which Dallas
seized the victory to go up 3-1.
Even their close-out Game Five against OKC
included a little fourth-quarter rally.
So if any team was going to find a way to dig out
of this hole, down 15 with seven minutes left
against an opponent known for suffocating fourth quarters,
preening in front of their home crowd,
well, it would be the Mavs.
(videotape whirring) The rally that pulled
this scoreboard even began because Dallas star
Dirk Nowitzki kicked out of help defense,
to a Jason Terry jumper, to a funky Shawn Marion banker,
to a Jason Kidd three that cut the deficit to six,
to hockey-assist another Terry bucket that made it four.
The man who calls himself "Jet"
was crucial to this comeback,
(videotape whirring)
but the final hump, those last few points belong
to the man with the ball right now.
Nowitzki handled the clutchest assignments himself.
Narratively speaking, this is meaningful.
(videotape whirring)
There was a time when Dirk was appreciated
as kind of a novelty.
The Mavericks made a 1998 draft night trade
for this gigantic, lanky German dude who, get this,
could hit three-pointers, but around the time
Mark Cuban bought the franchise and Steve Nash grew
into a star point guard, Nowitzki broke out
as much more than a novelty, a multi-zone, multi-purpose,
All-Star scorer who, at seven feet tall
with precise footwork and a buttery touch,
presented a matchup nightmare.
Nowitzki became an All-Star at age 23.
He took over first option responsibilities
from Michael Finley.
At the same time, Dallas's playoff runs met disappointment.
Then, Cuban let Nash walk to the Phoenix Suns in 2004.
Don Nelson stepped down as head coach late the next season,
but Dirk, it turned out, could lead the way.
Dallas finished with 58 wins in '05.
With Avery Johnson taking over full-time
and a deep supporting cast surrounding him,
Derek led the Mavs to 60 wins in '06.
The Mavs vanquished their rival Spurs
in a seven-game playoff series,
then upset Nash's shorthanded Suns
in the Western Conference Finals
behind a near flawless Dirk performance.
He dropped 50 points in one of those victories.
In the Finals, Dallas took that 2-0 lead
over Wade, Shaq, and the Heat.
In his eighth season, Dirk approached the threshold
of that legacy-defining title.
He would be the clear cut leader of an NBA champion.
Instead, he headlined that notorious collapse.
It was Dirk who missed a critical free throw and turned
the ball over in the final seconds of a close Game Three.
It was Dirk who shot a hideous two of 14
in the blowout Game Four loss.
Dirk committed the foul that allowed Wade to hit
the free throws that won Game Five.
Miami ended up winning it all in six,
leaving a cloud over the heads of Dirk and company,
but then '06-'07 came along and the Mavs looked
more than ready to blast that cloud out of the sky.
They shattered the franchise record by winning 67 games.
Dirk elevated his shooting percentages and assists
to make his sixth straight All-Star appearance.
It was a spotless individual campaign,
until one big old spot ruined it.
Those Mavericks made ignominious history,
becoming the first one seed ever to lose to an eight seed
in a best of seven series.
The super small, fast-paced Golden State Warriors,
coached by Dirk's old mentor,
Don Nelson, humiliated the Mavs.
Nelson sent fronts and double teams at Dirk,
who failed to overcome them.
He averaged under 20 points a game
on some soggy shooting percentages, including a miserable
two for 13 outing in the fatal Game Six.
Dirk could only partly enjoy the honor of becoming
the first European NBA MVP a couple weeks later.
Even as Dirk continued to sparkle in the following seasons,
more Dallas disappointment threatened to define his legacy.
In 2008, Chris Paul and the Hornets
easily slapped Dallas out of the first round.
2009 marked the first full Dallas season for point guard
Jason Kidd and coach Rick Carlisle,
but when Carmelo Anthony's Nuggets beat Dallas
in the second round, headlines focused on Dirk.
The TNT guys went in on the Dallas star because he'd made
some complimentary comments about Denver.
I don't know.
This legacy stuff is caked with macho bullshit
and dubious comparisons, but legitimate or not,
it's sitting there.
Not clutch, soft, not a winner,
good but not great, all that.
In 2010, while the Miami superteam was forming,
Dirk quietly re-signed with the Mavericks.
People weren't all that excited about Dallas this year.
They entered the playoffs a sharp,
but under hyped three seed.
Fine.
Dirk was sensational in a first-round win over the Blazers,
capping the series with a 33 point,
11 rebound masterpiece in Game Six.
He led the way once more in that astoundingly lopsided
second round sweep of the Lakers.
The Mavs Conference Final defeat of the Thunder was closer
than the five game outcome would make you think,
but Dirk nonetheless outperformed all of the Thunder stars.
He set the tone with 48 points in the Game One victory,
then finished the job by burying a huge late three
and two critical free throws to seal Game Five
and bring Dallas back to these Finals.
Dirk, as ever, will tell you he just wants to win.
It's not about correcting his individual legacy,
but this second crack at an even mightier version
of the Heat presents an opportunity.
As we've discussed, that opportunity
has appeared out of reach.
Miami not only romped in Game One,
but fucked up a finger on Dirk's left hand in the process.
He's played all of Game Two wearing a splint,
and while it doesn't seem to be affecting him that much,
he started off shooting terribly.
Dirk was just three of 10 in the first half
and missed six straight shots over a period
extending into the third quarter.
Seven minutes ago, the headlines were writing themselves,
but then Dirk calmly picked apart double teams
to shrink the lead, and once it got close, he took over.
Dirk picked and popped to the left elbow to cut it to two.
A flurry of Miami misses and recoveries
generated this leak out, which Dirk finished
with his busted left hand.
With under 30 seconds to go, Dirk slipped behind
a Chandler pindown and miraculously gave Dallas
a three point lead.
What a rally.
- [Mike] A 20-2 run, one of the most
incredible comebacks in NBA Finals history.
- [Narrator] But we are tied now because Coach Spoelstra
drew up a tidy inbound set to let Mario Chalmers sneak free
of the Mavs defense.
Corner three, tie game,
and now it's Dirk.
Single covered by Bosh with just a bit more time
on the game clock than the shot clock.
Dirk has an injured left hand.
He has in his wake three quarters of rough shooting
followed by one quarter leading yet another Mavs rally.
He's got a lot of critics insisting he's not built
for moments like this one and if he and the Mavericks
can't finish this rally, he's got little hope of overcoming
a 2-0 deficit against this overwhelming superteam.
Dirk has to make the most of this chance.
Then he's probably got to get back on defense.
Welcome to a moment in history.
- [Mike] Seven to shoot, Nowitzki drives with underneath.
Lefty, layup backs it in with 3.6 remaining.
Miami out of timeouts trailing by two.
James back to Wade.
Wade puts it up for the win.
Off the mark and Dallas has tied the Finals.
(television clicking)