Vindication: Mavs, Nowitzki Revel in the Wildest of Victories for Title

Even before he reached the locker room, gazing around to embrace the overjoyed moment, Dirk Nowitzki was overwhelmed, walked through the hallway of a hostile environment and then cried alone. He may have well been the best player of these Finals, relentless in shooting, savvy in his play and bearing his own criticism.

The night for the Dallas Mavericks was indescribable and unbelievable, a night when Nowitzki finally conquered vengeance, abiding vindication after meeting standards of the greatest triumph in franchise history. So now, he won't be ignored given history, but appreciated as one of the greatest shooters in NBA history, a team leader and a clutch finisher to lead the Mavs to its first NBA championship in franchise history. Once he emerged from the tunnel and reappeared onto the floor for the trophy presentation, Nowitzki brought exhilaration and smiles, greeted with prolonged hugs and walked onto the podium to hoist the MVP hardware and the Larry O'Brien trophy.

"We're world champions," Nowitzki said in the conference room, with his Finals MVP trophy and a bottle of champagne.

"It sounds unbelievable."

Nowitzki, the seven-foot German who won the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award, a player with self-consciousness, wasn't afraid of shooting the ball. Although he couldn't drain a bevy of missed shot attempts early on, he continued hurling shots and hit 8-of-15 in the second half, scored 18 points and guided the Mavs to an exceptional 105-95 win over the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena Sunday night for the NBA championship. There once was a bombastic owner who relished the spotlight for being the focal point of the Mavericks.


In this glamorous moment, Mark Cuban, the cyber nutcase that separates him from the normal owner of pro basketball, was finally humbled and celebratory just as his players jubilated and embraced the beauty of a title. When the Mavs were crowned champs, capturing a remarkable accomplishment of his 11 years of ownership, the famously loudmouthed owner carried himself with dignity and class. Most of all, for some time, Cuban has waited patiently to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy and indeed he has won the grandest prize by putting together a brand of talented stars, pampering his players and paying his athletes.

It's not as though Cuban was a terrible owner with an infamously outspoken mind that has gotten him into trouble in recent years, but it was the NBA fines he amassed because of his infantile hissy fits and absurd remarks. However, on a night that he honored the franchise's original owner, Donald Carter, who stood on the podium proud and speechless wearing his tall cowboy hat, there was nothing that Cuban uttered foolishly.

The growing idiocy wasn't what drew the attention, not even his harsh criticism of the officials, but his innovative framework to fittingly lure talent and manufacture a charismatic core. Here is Cuban now, all grown, knowing when to talk and shut up, tired of being inflicted with fines that cost millions. By now, no one is blinded by the product he has placed on the floor in Dallas, becoming the only owner in Mavericks' history to be honored in such a sterling night.

"Mark wanted to do it this way," said an overjoyed Carter. "He just wanted the trophy to go through the progression. We started it and he took it to the finish line. And with class."

It's perfectly the reality no one ever imagined in the most electrifying closure for the Mavs, a franchise nobody ever believed in and doubted entirely throughout the postseason, calling Dallas the one-and-done team. For once, in his lifetime, Nowitzki never choked in the Finals and carried the Mavs to astounded exultance.

Forgive me for doubting Nowitzki.

It was only five years ago, a point in his career that Nowitzki wasn't a stud or even one of the best shooters, when he and the Mavs collapsed in the '06 NBA Finals. It wasn't long ago, finally mentioned in the company with a myriad of NBA greats, when he was incapable of hailing as the MVP or team leader, he was disqualified as one of the all-time greats and couldn't beat the eighth-seeded Golden State in a stunning upset. It ought to be considered one of the greatest redemptive tales in basketball, a defining ending for Nowitzki to hush the disbelievers with his shooting clinics, determination, mentality and thirst for a legitimate title.

And now, of course, Dirk is purging the haunted memories at last, ousting all the painful mischances. It's the era we live in, one which the Mavs capped a stunning postseason to clinch a victory in the Finals, lifting beyond all expectations this season, not even Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson beheld a surprise party. It's the culture every basketball franchise wish it had, one which has persistence, tenacity and chemistry, particularly in a sport where it requires at least three solid players.


By any notable accounts, the Mavs had the proper ingredients to bring home the prize, fueled by the presence of Nowitzki and even veteran point guard Jason Kidd, along with his counterpart Jason Terry, who backed up his trash-talk and carried the Mavs with a stellar performance. The Mavs, as the better team, responded well to adversity and defeated arguably the greatest trilogy in basketball all-time. As a unified core, stuck together through the toughest road of each series and played impressively.

"It was not our motivating factor going in," Terry said of the awful '06 experience. "But now that we have done it, you can say it was sweet vindication."

When it was over, Nowitzki embraced Kidd and celebrated the moment, but the man worth endearing was Terry. The truth here is, he doesn't have to remove his Larry O'Brien tattoo on the inside of his right arm, after vowing that he would remove it had the Mavs lost. The prophecy from Terry was true after all and he played brilliantly ever since Nowitzki publicly said that he needed contributions.

The relief on Nowitzki, in retrospect, was convenient in Game 6, because Terry not only played as the sixth man building upon his legacy as he has done at a very young age in his hometown Seattle and stifled James but he posted 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting. For all of the superstars no one ever generates conversations about, Kidd at the age of 38 had eight assists and phenomenal ball-handling and DeShawn Stevenson launched threes off the bench.

"Was he unbelievable tonight or what?" Nowitzki said of Terry.

The best of the Mavs' pursuit of excellence happened in the title-clinching win, based on the adjustments by the well-respected coach Rick Carlisle. The highest level of quality for any team is adjustments and the sizable role players to pour in points off the bench. And the amazing player in this game was J.J. Barea, for scoring 15 points. Greater than it all, Shawn Marion produced 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds as usual, and impeccably Brian Cardinal nailed a three-pointer and had an assist.

As in every human, Dirk struggled with his rare misses for much of a peculiar Game 6, the unanticipated shooting debacles to score a manageable 21 points with 11 rebounds. But leave it to Terry with five crucial baskets in the final 7:22 to stain the Heat's potential dream of being crowned champs. By the second half, under his own willpower and willingness, he bounced back from a horrifying 1-for-12 shooting calamity. It's more woeful for the Heat, and as poorly as LeBron James played in the NBA Finals disengaged to endure greatness, he diminished as Nowitzki rose because of his fourth-quarter brilliance. And yes, in the elimination game, LeBron finally scored in the fourth.

"It was weird. In the first half, I had so many good looks," Nowitzki said. "I can't even explain it. I had some 3s top of the key. I had a wide-open 3 in the corner. I had some pull-ups. I had some one-legged fadeaways that I normally make."

Then too, the Mavs entered the series with more swagger and urgency as Dirk wasn't allowing another heartbreaking collapse smear an earnest run for the NBA title, enough to convince us worldwide that Dallas can precisely beat Miami to win the championship on the road. It was already discovered in Game 4 of the Mavs' improbable second-round sweep of the Lakers. While there was plenty of shame on a video that unveiled Friday featuring Wade and James ridiculing Nowitzki's illness, it may have angered the Mavs to play harder and be more engaged for the moment and indeed Dallas attacked with more ferocity, intrepidity, certainty and perseverance.

"Our guys took it personally tonight," Carlisle said. "They were not going to be denied. Dirk and [Terry] have had to live for five years with what happened in 2006. And as of tonight those demons are officially destroyed."

All playoffs, Nowitzki was undoubtedly the best player, enduring pain from a torn tendon in his middle finger on his left hand and then a sinus infection, including a high fever in this series. Amazingly, he pressed on. He's not devoid of an NBA tile suddenly, when there are six NBA MVPs deprived of a championship. To name a few: Among active players, there is Steve Nash and Derrick Rose. In that company, nonetheless, Allen Iverson, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley all never won a title. At the end of the night, Nowitzki and the Mavericks were seen partying on South Beach at the famous club LIV at the Fontainebleau Hotel with the Larry O'Brien trophy where Cuban was wildly dancing and jiving with his players after Dallas had avenged their failures of the '06 Finals.

A week from his 33rd birthday, and he just built a monumental legacy surrounded by the profound supporting cast. The Mavs were worthy of the title all alone. And since the NBA is the one sport where it is not a rarity to win back-to-back titles, determined by how the collective bargaining agreement fares, Cuban still has the motive to pursue a free-agent in the summer of 2012 for the Dwight Howard or Chris Paul sweepstakes, particularly if he can clear salary-cap space and influence some of his free-agents to demand less in salary.

"This is as mentally tough a team as I've ever been around, and I was fortunate enough to play in the '80s with those great Boston teams," Carlisle said. "And that team had four Hall of Famers. What this team was able to do with guys like Cardinal, Mahinmi, Barea -- those guys played major, major roles in a championship game."

Through six games, Nowitzki had the highest-scoring fourth quarter. If you haven't noticed, he was resilient in Game 6 after a 4-of-21 start, a rare and slow start for a gifted shooter of Nowitzki's caliber. But all that mattered was how he finished, shooting 5-for-6 near the end. At one point, late in the game of course, he couldn't miss shots and drove to the basket with his incredible size and upper body strength, he couldn't miss shots popping jump shots continuously. With four points and 11 rebounds off the bench, Ian Mahinmi hit the biggest shot of his career, if not of Game 6 and nailed a 14-footer as the clock expired to end the third that gave the Mavs an 81-72 advantage.

In a remarkable run, it took teamwork and effort. And Cuban surrounded Nowitzki with enough star power for the sweetest victory in Mavs existence. Plain and simple, the Mavs were just the better opponent and wanted it more than the Big Three in South Beach.

Nowitzki Won't Keep the Mavs On Top Alone

My faith in the Dallas Mavericks has been diminished in many ways. The shock of perhaps Dirk Nowitzki falling short of another astonishing feat is a bit worrisome, all because he couldn't hit a contested 16-footer that bounced high off the rim and dropped to the court as the buzzer sounded.

"Well, I thought we had opportunities," said Nowitzki. "First of all, we can’t always fall down behind. I think we’re always reacting. We did in the first quarter. Third quarter we came out slow, fell down big."

He tried, mind you, to duplicate an encore finish in Sunday's 88-86 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, he tried to obviously complete a flawless performance again and then he tried to virtually be the hero in the end. Instead on this particular night, he would rush the shot with very little time on the clock to hoist a prayer that would have sent it to overtime -- he would hit a missed shot, stand hopeless in pain, then lower his head as if Dallas' aspirations mercifully imploded at the damnest time.

"We all know that basketball is a game of runs," said Nowitzki. We have to stop the runs a little quicker. We can’t get down 15 all the time and battle back. You can get like a five, six-point swing here and there. We can’t get in a deep hole like that."

It sounds more like Nowitzki can use assistance and should be pleading for help from his passive supporting cast, coming in a series where the Heat consist of too much talent, coming in a series where Nowitzki has worked alone and lifted the Mavs out of distress. It could be that Nowitzki is mentally exhausted and weary after carrying the Mavericks to the NBA Finals, along with staging a breathtaking comeback in the previous meeting, an unexpected rally the folks can presumably embrace for the ages.

And since he's being compared against the all-time greats in basketball, he ultimately seeks his first ever NBA championship and waited a long time for another crack at capturing a title while wearing a Mavs uniform. But what we fail to realize is Nowitzki cannot win it alone and he'll need reinforcements from his non-existent supporting cast in these Finals, if Dallas plans on celebrating its first NBA title in franchise history.

It was so easy to postulate, evidently when we thought Nowitzki was the invincible star in these Finals, when we suspected him to pose as the most lethal performer, that the Mavericks had climbed beyond any doubts. No one standing on our earth is superhuman -- including Nowitzki -- who showed he has weaknesses as every other player in the game. For once, he looks imperfect in crunch-time and in no position to showcase his brilliance, although he almost led the Mavs to a significant win. When he touched the ball on the last possession, he was flawed on the last attempt and the lack of support from his lackadaisical teammates.

What the hell is with Jason Terry?? Being down 2-1 isn't such a bad predicament, considering that the Mavericks are resilient and poised. Given Dallas' history, though, the Mavs are vilified and have been known to derail and suffocate in huge games with plenty implications, particularly in the most challenging moments. It seems strange to recognize the Mavs having flaws -- teammates playing soft and passive in this series alone.


It's almost unfathomable that Terry has come into view with a dismal performance, shooting merely 38 percent from the field in the NBA Finals. The unfolding of his struggles blazoned in Game 3 when Terry shot 5-for-13 and scored 15 points and, for much of the night, he was ineffective as the defensive-minded Heat double-teamed and trapped the absent-minded guard.

"We've been very inconsistent," Terry said. "Obviously, offensively is where we like to get in the paint and finish plays, and we haven't done that. A lot of that falls on my shoulders, and so again in Game 4, I will be real aggressive. I have to be for us to be successful."

Oh, I'm sure he'll be aggressive in Game 4 Tuesday night at American Airlines Center in Dallas. The best player on the floor, no doubt, is Nowitzki, such as in the fourth quarter when he scored 15 of his game-high 34 points and snatched 11 rebounds in the game. Maybe he oozed his swagger, or maybe he was persistent for 48 minutes. Whatever it was -- if you will -- it wasn't enough to beat Heat and it surely wasn't enough to seize a commanding lead in the series.

It's telling the Mavs are not a stout team, from the oversized seven-footer in Nowitzki who act as if he's a shooting guard to the fervid owner Mark Cuban, but are fundamentally built to capture a title. But if the Mavs are seeking to win a championship, minimize the painful collapses in the past and erase the doomsday memories of postseason failures, then Dallas shouldn't just depend on Nowitzki.

"We have to be a little sharper at the beginning and not let them get their rhythm," said Nowitzki. And I thought the crowd pushed us forward. So, we’re going to need the same effort out of them. It’s basically a must-win situation."

With the exception of Nowitzki, he has manipulated the state of the series and placed significantly a heavy burden on the Heat. When he dominated in the last game, Nowitzki single-handedly defeated the Superteam and capped a historic comeback in NBA Finals history, scoring the Mavs' final nine points for a stunning victory that tied the series. The standards, in the meantime, are immense for Nowitzki just as much as the circumstances are larger than life for the Mavs as a whole.

"Haslem's fronting me everywhere, trying to keep the ball out of my hands," said Nowitzki. "He does a good job. He's active, he's quick on his feet. Down the stretch, I think he stayed down and made me shoot a contested shot and a shot I can make, but unfortunately it didn't go."

And by the time the fourth quarter arrived, he scored double-digits for the 11th time in 18 playoff games but it still was meaningless in a loss. Long before the Mavs eroded on the final basket, Nowitzki scored Dallas' last 12 points and rallied the troops from a seven-point deficit. Most folks figured, after Bosh hit the go-ahead jump shot, Nowitzki would have achieved greatness at the end.

But instead the Heat trapped him with three defenders in the middle of the floor, harassed him, and lastly, stopped him from his proverbial finishes. This would make sense when he indeed had a great look at the basket, but clearly, he missed it and was crowded. The masses in the building were stunned in disbelief that Nowitzki had a rare miss on a 16-footer, even though Udonis Haslem had a hand in his face when he attempted the jumper. For the Mavs, should the supporting cast continues to disappear and abandon the Finals, Nowitzki is marred in trouble as long as Dallas shoots 34.6 percent from the floor and take nights off by shooting a miserable 11-of-21 from the field.

"We didn't really give him much help," said Terry, who was 0-of-4 in the fourth quarter, including a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 58.9 seconds remaining. "I take a lot of that on my shoulders."

It took Nowitzki to deliver in the fourth quarter, hitting a lone three-pointer, fueling the home crowd on an electrifying dunk and even a layup, an incredible comeback as his teammates watched in delight. To be honest, the Mavs won't achieve an ambition if the Mavs score merely seven points in the final minutes.

It's the biggest game with nearly as many people watching, a moment for Terry to hit three-pointers, a moment for him to overcome his struggles. The only difference is, he's a zilch in the Finals, just as much as Jason Kidd has been inconsistent. He's known for making his teammates better, but he was scoreless with one assist in the fourth quarter.

"We've gotta have somebody else step up. Dirk is doing his part."

It was nearly an instant classic, quite fittingly, that Nowitzki played like a one-dimensional superstar, advisedly choosing to take the last shot and risk the trend of potentially leading the series. And then, as we know it, he botched the biggest shot but has undoubtedly placed himself among the NBA elites by scoring 34 of the Mavs 86 points, while the rest of the players withered in which Dallas was outscored 21-7 in the six minutes he sat on the bench. As much as we have relished Nowitzki, he is fortunate that he's been relieved with the presence of Shawn Marion, shooting 59 percent in the series with Nowitzki on the floor.

So when it comes to the Mavs, it takes a remarkable supporting cast. It takes more than Dirk. Simply, he can't do it by himself.

Mavs Need Helping Hand from Dirk Nowitzki or No Glory

This was a chance for Dirk Nowitzki to make the deepest statement, to vindicate that he is the prolific player of these NBA Finals and better than ever before, to send a sense of upbeat vibes in the series. This was when Nowitzki was supposed to kick butt and channel Chuck Norris or Cynthia Rothrock, and then inspirit David Hasselhoff to join the craze in the Heart of Texas. But he's delivered a subpar performance and rendered indisputably the most chaotic, lowest scoring percentage that we had the displeasure seeing in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.


What we have seen is Nowitzki expose his weaknesses at the worst possible time, unable to avenge the painful memories from when he faltered in the 2006 Finals against the Miami Heat. The star of the Dallas Mavericks poured in 27 points in the lightest fashion and eventually unveiled he had sustained a torn tendon in the middle finger of his left hand. He stood in a corner on the court of American Airlines Arena in Miami, located on the edge of the bay, optimistic about his ability to play at an all-time high as the assassin who answered in prior series with no conscience for his array of phenomenal shots.

So when Nowitzki and the Mavericks withered in the first game of the series, missed shots and lost a decisive game, I had suddenly pondered and flashed back to the nightmarish point in time that he unsteadily unraveled. It's a no-brainer he's absolutely fixated on the task at hand, when he's never embraced the moment of capturing a second Western Conference title. It was the night he disappeared from the trophy presentation, jumping over the scorer's table and hiding in the tunnel to avoid the national spotlight of flashbulbs and swarming media personnel.

The last thing Nowitzki wants is another meltdown, on pace to avenge the painful collapse -- ready for a suspenseful and striking rematch on the path to redemption only if he grinds out his first ever NBA championship and doesn't come unglued in the national landscape given his reputation of descending. If you can recall, as the Mavericks took a 2-0 lead on the Heat in the '06 Finals, Nowitzki couldn't vanquish from the burden of failures in the past. There was one point, such as when we were overly obsessed with Nowitzki prematurely considered to be one of the greatest players of all-time, if not the deadliest shooter, when the god of the Mavs carried Dallas in Game 3 in Miami by maintaining a 13 point lead with 6:42 left, but then all of the sudden underperformed and took much criticism for the struggles.

Is he overrated?? In my view, he is the best player in these playoffs. And coming in a different scenario, he never has been fully capable of capturing a title or leading the Mavs to the biggest victory. This season, he was more than the freakish athlete, more than the appreciated star in Dallas, only a man endeared for modifying the personality in a sport that relies on an influx of star ballplayers. Before entering the Finals, he was a breakthrough performer who suddenly relived the moment, when he drove the Mavs literally through the postseason, including with the helpful contributions of the veteran point guard Jason Kidd, forward Shawn Marion, and the emotional defender at center Tyson Chandler and, of course, the journeyman Jason Terry -- a main fragment for the much-improved '06 Mavs.

As of today, he still has the chills and goosebumps by thinking of the bitter ending that he has never stopped dwelling on, knowing how close the Mavs were to winning a championship. That's how the situation looks for Nowitzki, a typical victim for not only allowing his opponents to defeat him, but also for beating himself. A day later, after watching film and working out in practice on Wednesday, Nowitzki said he is ready to respond. But then, he might be declining again when so much is on the line, hit by a roadblock now that the Heat stands in the way.

What's more, with many postseason appearances, is he advanced to his 11th straight postseason and started as one of only four players all time to average at least 25 points and 10 rebounds per game. That wouldn't, by the numbers, rank Nowitzki higher than many active ballplayers, although he has compiled 32.2 points on 55.7 percent shooting in the Western Conference Finals. In reality, he is an elite player, but he hasn't led the Mavs to a championship and stumbled in the finish. Therefore, he is trying harder than ever to not walk away winless in his 13th season.

A couple of weeks ago, he surely recalled the Game 3 collapse with too much mournful thoughts as Nowitzki lamented and finished 2-of-14 from the floor for 16 points in Game 4 of the '06 Finals in the 98-74 rout. The point is -- he performed the choke job in prior seasons -- particularly in critical series, at this time of year. All we know is that the Mavericks, owned by the cyber bully Mark Cuban, have a bevy of experience when the billionaire has lavished his players with wealthy paychecks to build the deepest contender in the West.


Now, we are left to wonder if Nowitzki can finally lead the Mavs five years after they were obliterated by the Heat. Now, we are left to wonder if Nowitzki, who is having the best season of his outstanding career, can actually transcend in his prime with a dimensional nucleus of talent. Twice in his winsome career, Kidd has lost in the Finals. There is even Terry and Peja Stojakovic, a pair of sharpshooters with lethal ability to slaughter their opponents from long range. Then come the Mavs’ centers, Chandler and Brendan Haywood, two of the tallest players with tremendous size in the paint. There is much to like about Nowitzki -- for instance -- he has proven to be a solid player, a perennial star in the postseason, though he hasn't proven he can lead a franchise to a championship.

That much is an explanation for all the criticism the much-scrutinized megastar takes in each season. But now, quicker than he drills a three-pointer, the Mavs' aspirations might be determined based on Nowitzki's ability to play at a moment when his presence is a necessity in Dallas' championship pursuit. And whether people are willing to believe it or not, Nowitzki admittedly informed everybody that he is optimistic the middle finger on his left hand with the torn tendon won't affect his ability to release shots.

Welcome to the playoffs, folks. Over the course of his career, Nowitzki has certainly fought through pain from injuries. First, he nursed a number of ankle sprains, and then he amazingly made a speedy return after having Carl Landry's chipped teeth removed from his elbow. Earlier in the season, he also recovered from a sprained right knee and returned sooner than expected. In his career, all with the Mavs, none of his injuries debilitated his athleticism or strength to push left on the court.

When it comes to Nowitzki, he is more efficient driving left than moving the ball right, and his shooting percentage is solid on the left side. If he desires to heal the wounds of postseason flaws and treasure the celebration of winning a title, then he needs to direct the Mavs in the biggest happenstance of his lifetime. Pressured to win it all or either worsen the criticism, it's a notion that it would be a miserable travesty in Dirk's elusive NBA career if he is devoid of a championship after having his best season.

As in the case with all players, particularly the stars of the sport, winning cures everything for Nowitzki, too.