Mavericks Make Amazing Comeback, Tie Series With Heat

I left a friend’s apartment last night thinking the Miami Heat were capping off a decisive Game 2 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.  It wasn’t that I was giving up on the game.  It was just getting late for everyone who had work this morning, which was everyone except for me, so I wasn’t exactly in the position to put up a fight.  Opening the door to my place, I saw something dart out of the shadows.  It was unmistakably someone’s cat, probably snuck in through the open bathroom window.  Timing is everything, right?

I noticed it wasn’t black, which put my superstitious inclinations at bay.  After shooing the kitty out the door, I turned on the TV quickly.  To my astonishment, the screen showed Jason Kidd with the basketball, 13 seconds left on the clock, and a tie game.  I thought to myself, “holy #@!$, they have a chance to win this!”  Kidd dumped the ball off to Dirk Nowitzki, who made a quick move blowing by Chris Bosh and laid the ball in with 3 seconds left.

The Heat quickly inbounded, having no timeouts, and LeBron James lateralled to Dwayne Wade who heaved up a last chance 3 pointer from just over the half court line, that actually didn’t miss by much.  Silence in American Airlines Arena, beautiful sweet silence.  I screamed out loud, my girlfriend who was in the bathroom thought I had discovered a second feline presence in the apartment.  “No,” I said laughing, “just basketball!”

I felt like I had missed something, well, that was obvious, the Heat were up by a good 15 points when we had departed from our friends’ place.  I sent a text to my good friend Asher asking, in so many words, what had just happened.  He responded with “the greatest comeback I’ve ever witnessed.”  The misfortune of missing most of the comeback was unavoidable, but I’ll be damned if that kitty didn’t hold up the party for just a few more seconds so that I would turn the TV on at that exact moment.

As I thought about it more this morning, I realized I had watched what is now the hot topic of the day.  Wade’s dagger 3 pointer that put the Heat up by 15 with roughly 7 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, and the ensuing showboat celebration antics with LeBron James.  I understand that LeBron and the Heat have taken on the identity of the villain, and I have no problem with it.  The human psyche does not naturally crave hatred and therefore has to find ways to defend itself.  It’s not surprising that the Heat have fully embraced the “hated” role and taken it to the next level – flaunting it in people’s faces.

It’s sports and I don’t have a problem with it.  But everyone knows the old adage, it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.  Being defensive and indignant has its advantages, but no one in the Miami Heat locker room would even give credence to this celebration incident.  The facts are pretty clear.  After making the baseline 3 pointer, Wade flaunted in celebration right in front of the Mavericks bench and proceeded to half court where LeBron gave him some playful chest shots.

They can talk all they want about what it meant to them, but what they’re ignoring is what it meant to the Dallas Mavericks.  It got them fired up, maybe even angry.  Playing mad isn’t necessarily a good strategy day-in-day-out, but there are moments where anger fuels determination, and it increases mental focus.  Jason Terry started hitting shots and Dirk Nowitzki started playing like a madman, scoring the last 9 of Dallas’ points.  Two of those baskets, including the game winner, were laid in by his injured left hand.

Miami can make all the excuses it wants, but the tape shows, if anything, a team that played the last 7 minutes with very little mental focus.  It shows best on the defensive side and Dallas took advantage of several breakdowns.  There’s simply no excuse for putting single man coverage on Nowitzki with 13 seconds left when everyone in the world knows he’s going to take the final shot.  Jeff Van Gundy called them out right away pointing out that they had put Bosh on Dirk with the game on the line, right before Nowitzki blasted by him for the winner.  And this is all with a foul to give – complete lack of mental focus.

It’s hard to sit back and point the finger at Dwayne Wade and LeBron James, but they are clearly the heart of the team.  I pointed out in a previous article about how James was taking it upon himself to close out games when the Heat need it, but that it goes both ways.  Wade finished the game with 36 points, but took just two shots in the last half of the fourth.  Sometimes knowing how to finish is knowing who to give the ball to.  James harkened back to his Cavalier days, dribbling around until the shot clock goes down and hucking up desperation 3 pointers.

But give the credit to Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks.  This is their fourth double-digit comeback of these playoffs.  What they accomplished last night was truly special and in a lot of ways it is why we watch sports.  We watch because we care, yes, but sometimes it’s about getting the chance to witness something special.  I’m grateful for what happened, even though I missed most of it and that cat kind of scared the crap out of me.  The series even, Dallas heads home where they have shot the lights out this postseason and the momentum on their side.  But don’t expect the Heat to unravel.  Game 3 should be fun.

***UPDATE***
This was supposed to be a comment on my previous article about the Miami Heat.  Thanks are due to Mr. Asher Weinberg for re-writing his sentiments for me so I could post them, as I think he makes some excellent and cognizant points.

Though it may be unfair, I find it enjoyable to judge professional sports franchises by the behavior of their fans. I watched the final game of the Heat/Bulls series at Saggio's, a pizzaria/bar that is beloved by locals as THE place to eat good food, drink good beer, and watch any major sporting event, or three at a time on one of their dozens of TVs. Albuquerque is a basketball town (thanks to the historic superiority of Lobos basketball, men and women, over all other UNM teams) and because we lack a professional team to call our own, we like to think of ourselves as intelligent and respectful observers of the game.

As the game progressed, it became apparent that most of the people present were rooting for the Bulls. Maybe because of the Jordan legacy, maybe out of hatred for the way the Heat were constructed and billed during the summer of 2010. Whenever the Bulls scored or made a good defensive play, people would clap and you might hear a few scattered "Yeah's!". When the Heat scored, made a good defensive play, or were on the losing end of a questionable whistle, two individuals made their allegiance to the Heat obnoxiously known. They screamed at the top of their lungs and pounded their fists of the the wooden tables, causing newly-arrived patrons to look around nervously as if expecting a fistfight and drawing the glare of Nicky (one of the owners and about as close to a member of La Cosa Nostra as one can get in New Mexico) from behind the counter. 
            
When the game ended and the Heat had prevailed, most people simply shrugged their shoulders, seemingly content with what was perceived (correctly) as the better team advancing to the finals. The two aforementioned individuals began their taunting stroll around the restaurant, out the doors, and down the block yelling over and over, "FUCK YEAHHHHH MIAMI YEAHHHH". Here comes the judgement: these people are D-list human beings. They rooted for the Joker in the Dark Knight. They laughed at bullied children in the hallways of middle school. They don't tip waiters and waitresses. They litter. They cut you off in traffic while flipping you off out of the window. And they root for the Heat. Maybe because of a connection they feel with the villains role that Miami has occupied so well. Maybe because they, like LeBron, could never accomplish anything individually and have been perpetually riding others' coattails. I like simplicity. The simple answer is that they are assholes, relish being assholes, and identify with assholes like the Miami Heat. 
            
Last night's come-from-behind win validates this point. As you wrote, the Heat fired up Dirk, Kidd, and Terry by celebrating a win 7 minutes too early. They paid dearly for that and I sincerely hope that they are too dumb and too convinced of their own superiority to learn their lesson.