Let It Rain, Mavs Drop Dimes

Dave Pruitt, Sports Emerge
http://sportsemerge.com/

I knew there was no chance for the Heat to win when it started to rain in Dallas.  Not outside but in the building, the shots that were falling , “was like DAMN!“  Dirk Nowitzki’s rainbow 3 point shot looked like it went out the top of my T.V. screen.  I remember asking my wife, ”where the ball go?”  Then it fell into the basket….. I was stuck.

To say Dirk finally received help would be an under statement.  His teammates came knocking to answer the long awaited call.  Jason Terry, J.J. Barea & Jason Kidd closed the 4th Qtr. impressively Thursday in their last home game this series.  They took it upon themselves to put Dallas on their backs & take Mark Cuban & the city one step closer to it’s 1st NBA Championship.

Up to this point it has been Dirk carrying that burden, leading his team like a sheperd leads his sheep.  Prior to the games the Mavs lost Dirk has called on his teammates, mainly Jason Terry who had been medicore at best through the first 3 games.  Last night Terry showed his teammates, the Miami Heat, & the viewing audience exactly why he is in the NBA.  People that has not seen him play at his best got a taste of it Thursday in Game 5.

It is the 1st time there is a definite momentum switch in this series.  The only thing that the Miami Heat have going for them is that they’re are returning to South Beach to finish the series, win or lose.  The Heat are 9-1 at home in the playoffs with their only lost coming from the Dallas Mavs in Game 2.  Now it is the Mavs series to lose, the T-shirts & ball caps are being made as I type with Dallas Mavericks 2011 NBA Finals Champions embroidered on the fronts.

Dirk had 29 points, 6 rebounds & went 10 of 10 from the foul line silently, it was expected of him.  However, what was not expected, given the history this NBA Finals was the contributions of Jason Terry, J.J. Barea & Jason Kidd.  They all showed up big in the 4th Qtr.  The quarter that this series has been focused around all 5 games with the Mavs making major comebacks in each game.  In the 4th Terry had 6 points, Barea had 6 & Kidd had 5; a production the Mavs has not received the entire Finals.


This game was reminiscent of the Mavs’ Game 4 against the Lakers where it seemed like they couldn’t miss a shot.  In that game the Mavs shot 20 of 32 from the 3 point line & Jason Terry went 9 out of 10.  In Thursday’s game versus the Heat the Mavs went 13 of 19 from the 3 point line with Terry going 3 of 5.  He was aggressive throughout the game & put the ball on the floor going attacking “LeBron’s feet” as he put it.  He finished the game shooting 8 of 12 with 21 points & 6 assist.

He has been the 4th Qtr. guy for the Mavs all of his career, in the press conference prior to the game, he said. “It’s my job,” referring to being aggressive in the 4th Qtr. he continued, “we’re not going to keep missing these open shots.”  He expressed that to his teammates after watching film of games 1 through 3 & they responded.

J.J. Barea hit 4 big 3 point shots going 4 of 5, Jason Kidd went 3 of 5,  DeShawn Stevenson 1 of 2 & even Brian Cardinal got in on the act hitting 1.  Of course Dirk had 1 also, but I’m focusing on the “WOW factor” of Game 5 with his teammates pulling out a game instead of him.

As far as the Heat go, they are not in the moment.  They beckon a home game, where they thrive.  The problem is they go home with only 1 chance.  They lose, they are done & Dirk holds up his 1st Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.  Pleasing all Cleveland Cavs fans, Mavs=Cavs, Dirk is playing for Dalls & Cleveland.  Hilarious.

So LeBron Game 6 is the biggest game in your life, not what you thought & didn’t show with Game 5.
I’m usely writing about the Heat but I’ll leave this game with saying this, a triple-double by LeBron means nothing in a loss & Dwyane Wade’s hip contusion injury did not decide the outcome of Game 5.
What determined the outcome of Game 5 was the Mavs wonderous shooting down the stretch & Heat’s suspect D.  Oh yeah, LeBron once again became ghostly in the 4th scoring only 2 points.  I could do that.

The story of the series is the lack of DEFENSE of the Miami Heat in the 4th Qtr. of every game even the ones the won.

My prediction ability is SUSPECT also, but atleast I admit it.  But what I did predict correctly at the beginning of the playoffs that it would be very EXCITING & that prediction still holds true as the Dallas Mavs take their momentum into South Beach Sunday night with a 3-2 lead.
Game 6 Sunday @ 8pm ET on ABC.
It is what it is…