NBA Finals Game 6: Dallas at Miami (June 12) This time Miami made a (overdue) change to start the game in starting Mario Chalmers instead of the struggling Mike Bibby. Chalmers had been playing well and Bibby had mostly been a detriment to the team in this series. LeBron James open the game with a 3-pointer and Miami held a small lead over the first few minutes of the game. A lob from J.J. Barea to Tyson Chandler for the dunk and free throw jumper by Barea gave Dallas their first lead at 10-8 with 8:45 to go. But Miami then went on a 12-1 run to take a 20-11 lead with 6:20 left as the Heat scored on 6 straight possessions. A baseliner by Dirk Nowitzki (his first bucket of the game) ended the run 15 seconds later and kicked off a 12-2 Dallas run, capped by a 3-pointer by Brian Cardinal, to give Dallas a 23-22 lead with 3:50 remaining. After Dwyane Wade found Udonis Haslem cutting for a dunk, Dallas then scored the next 9 points, capped by an elbow 3-pointer by DeShawn Stevenson to take a 32-24 lead with 25 seconds left. But Eddie House (getting lots of playing time in this game in place of Bibby and Mike Miller) answered with an elbow 3-pointer. Dallas led 32-27 after 1. It was a quarter of runs as Miami went on a 12-1 run midway through the quarter and then Dallas went on a 21-4 run the rest of the quarter (until House's 3). Both teams shot well as Dallas shot 13-21 FG including 3-6 3-pointers and Miami shot 11-22 FG including 2-6 3-pointers. Both teams shot 3-4 FT. James had 9 points, but missed his last 3 shots of the quarter. The teams traded missed 3-pointers to open the 2nd quarter and then Dallas went on a 8-1 run, capped by consecutive 3-pointers by Stevenson (from the same spot) to take a 40-28 lead with 9:45 remaining and Miami called timeout. The timeout worked as House nailed a 3 to kick of 14 straight Miami points, also ended by a 3 by House, to give the Heat a 42-40 lead with 6:25 to go as Dallas missed 5 straight shots and Dallas called timeout. At the start of the timeout, a minor scuffle occurred as Stevenson shoved Haslem and the 2 went chest-to-chest and then Chalmers came in and threw a shove and then some time was spent separating players and then the refs reviewing the scuffle - techs were given to the 3 and Nowitzki hit the tech free throw (with Haslem's and Stevenson's technicals off-setting). Dallas' timeout didn't work as Jason Terry traveled. The teams traded misses and then Chalmers fed Haslem for a layup to complete the 16-1 run to give Miami a 44-41 lead with 5:25 left. Chandler picked up his 3rd foul with 4:15 left and sat the rest of the quarter. Wade drove for 2 to give Miami a 49-46 lead with 3:25 to go, but Terry then scored the next 7 points (adding to a 3 prior to Wade's layup for 10 straight Dallas points) to give Dallas a 53-49 lead with 34 seconds left. 2 free throws by Chalmers capped the quarter scoring. Dallas led 53-51 at the half. Miami out-scored Dallas 21-24 in the 2nd quarter. Both teams made 8 shots, but Miami got to the line much more in shooting 6-10 FT in the 2nd quarter while Dallas shot 1-3 FT. Miami shot 8-16 FG including 2-5 3-pointers and Dallas shot 8-22 FG including 4-8 3-pointers. Miami had 5 turnovers in the quarter on which Dallas scored 9 points. Terry had 10 points on 4-4 FG and 2-2 3-pointers (but Nowitzki missed all 9 shots he attempt in the quarter). The Mavs were riding Terry as he had had 19 points including 8-10 FG in the half, while Nowitzki shot just 1-12 FG in the half. Nowitzki hit an elbow jumper to open the 3rd quarter [and Mavs fans rejoiced that Nowitzki hit a shot], but Chalmers then hit an open 3-pointer and Chris Bosh hit an open jumper up top to give Miami a 56-55 lead with 11 minutes remaining. But it was a short lived lead as Barea worked inside for a layup to kick off 8 straight Dallas points and Dallas led 63-56 with 8:55 left and Miami called timeout. Miami again scored coming out of the timeout with consecutive buckets by Bosh and Dallas continued to hold a small lead. Cardinal fed Nowitzki behind the arc for an elbow 3-pointer to give Dallas a 71-65 lead with 5:10 to go and both teams struggled over the next 2 minutes with turnovers and misses - a technical free throw by Nowitzki was the only points during the time frame (with Wade complaining after the call going against him as this time the ref made the correct call with Cardinal taking a charge on Wade). James posted up, spun, and got a layup to pull Miami within 71-74 with 1:50 left, but Dallas closed the quarter strong with Shawn Marion hitting 2 free throws, Juwan Howard missing 2 free throws, Jason Kidd nailing a 3-pointer late in the shot clock, James hitting 1-2 FT, and Terry feeding Ian Mahinmi for the unexpected 17-foot jumper at the buzzer to give Dallas an 81-72 lead after 3 as Dallas closed the quarter with a 7-1 mini-run. Dallas out-scored Miami 28-21 in the 3rd quarter. Dallas shot 11-21 FG including 3-6 3-pointers while Miami shot 7-15 FG including 1-4 3-pointers. Miami again had an edge in getting to the line, but struggled with their free throws in only making half of them. Miami shot 6-12 FT and Dallas shot 3-3 FT. After his poor 1st half, Nowitzki did have 8 points including 3-7 FG in the 3rd quarter. Haslem hit 1-2 FT, Terry turned the ball over, Wade drove for 2 and a foul (but missed the free throw), Nowitzki missed a 3-pointer, and Chalmers hit 2 free throws to pull Miami within 77-81 with 10:30 left and it was looking like we'd have another tight 4th quarter. But Barea nailed a 3-pointer late in the shot clock, the teams traded 3-point misses, and Terry stole the ball and was fouled on the break and hit 1-2 FT to give Dallas an 85-77 lead with 9:30 remaining and Miami called timeout. This timeout did not work for the Heat as Chalmers' 3-pointer went in-and-out and Terry hit a jumper on the other end. Wade simply dribbled the ball off his foot, but Nowitzki missed a 3, but James missed a short shot badly. Barea drove for 2 to give Dallas their largest lead at 89-77 with 8:10 left and Miami again called timeout. Didn't work as Wade missed a 3-pointer, but Barea missed on the other end. Chalmers drove, got the blocking foul on Barea (with the ref not calling Chalmers for clearing out with his forearm), and the layup for the 3-point play. But Miami couldn't mount a rally as Nowitzki hit an elbow jumper on the other end to give Dallas a 91-80 lead with 7:20 left and Dallas' lead would hover around 10 points for the next couple of minutes. A 3-point play by Bosh pulled Miami within 87-94 with 5:50 to go - it was Chandler's 5th foul, but he stayed in the game. Nowitzki turned the ball over, Miami pushed the ball, but Kidd blocked Chalmers inside and Kidd was fouled. He hit 1-2 FT. Kidd got a hand on the ball as James drove and then James got the bobbled ball but stepped out of bounds for the turnover with 5 minutes remaining. Kidd missed, but Chandler got the rebound and Dallas reset. Terry missed and this time Miami got the rebound. Nowitzki stole the ball inside (as Miami was late in the shot clock and passed up some good looks) and Nowitzki swished a 12-foot jumper with 3:40 left to give Dallas a 97-87 lead. Wade did answer with a tough fallaway with 3:30 left. Nowitzki missed, but Chandler tapped the ball out and then the ball went out of bounds, last touched by Miami and Dallas reset. Terry was short on a 3-point attempt, but Marion rebounded and Dallas reset. And Nowitzki swished a tough baseliner over Bosh to give Dallas a 99-89 lead with 2:30 remaining and Miami called timeout. House missed a 3-pointer and Terry hit a free throw jumper with 2 minutes left. But James answered with a quick 3-pointer to pull Miami within 92-101 with 1:50 left. And the door wasn't closed as Miami stole the ball, but James missed a quick 3-pointer with 1:20 to go. Dallas ran some time off the clock and Kidd turned the ball over with a minute remaining. But Wade missed a step-back 3-pointer. Dallas ran more time off the clock and Kidd fed a cutting Nowitzki for a clinching layup with 30 seconds left and Dallas started celebrating. Terry stole the ball and Kidd was intentionally fouled and hit both free throws. Chalmers hit a 3-pointer and the Mavs ran the clock out. Dallas won 105-95. Dallas takes the series 4-2 and are the 2011 NBA CHAMPIONS!!! Oh my gosh! What an incredible feeling! It's a day later and I still can't believe it. And I still can't stop grinning. Oh wow. I'm so thrilled and excited that the Mavs actually won it all. It was awesome seeing the Mavs receive the Championship Trophy and really cool that owner Mark Cuban chose to have founder Don Carter be presented the trophy - a class act. It was just great watching that presentation (and ironic that it happened on Miami's court as their 2006 trophy presentation happened on Dallas' court). But 2006 is now not as bitter of a memory as 2011 is now the dominate Mavericks memory and Game 6 immediately jumps to the top of all-time best Mavs games. Your 2011 NBA Champions Dallas Mavericks! Awesome. Although I wasn't at Game 6, I did go to Love Field to welcome my Champs home Monday (the plane arrived around 11:45 am). I got there early enough to get a spot at the fence (and then waited for 3 hours in the sun for the plane to arrive (and now have a nice red glow to go with my grin)). There were about 2,000 people there to cheer the Mavs (definitely more than in 2006 when the Mavs came back from Phoenix). The plane landed and they had 2 firetrucks shoot water for the plane to go through, but the plane stopped far from the fans and we watched specks deplane. But after a bit, a large group headed from the plane across the tarmac to the crowds and many of the team came to celebrate with the fans (with the fence still separating the two). Various players walked along the fence with different players carrying the trophy (J.J. Barea was the first to come by) and Nowitzki came by with his MVP trophy (and it was a while before he came back as he walked the full length of the fence). And we cheered and we cheered and we cheered - I won't go into full details as I need to finish this at some point - sometimes chanting players' names. Ian Mahinmi seemed to get the biggest thrill from our chants, with a huge grin and then encouraging us. It think the players took as many pictures and videos of the fans as we took of them. It was awesome. And I expect more fun for the NBA Championship (love that phrase) victory parade, scheduled for Thursday. Still grinning. Back to Game 6: It was a game of runs in the 1st half with both teams having large runs in the 1st and 2nd quarter. But the 2nd half mostly belonged to Dallas. Miami briefly held a 1 point lead early in the 3rd quarter, but Dallas led the rest of the way and Miami got no closer than 4 points in the quarter - and that was early in the quarter and J.J. Barea then hit a 3-pointer and then Miami got no closer than 7 points the rest of the way. So it wasn't a dominating win, but it was a controlling win. And I'm so sick of hearing about Miami, Miami, Miami - let's talk about Dallas, they clearly better team in this series. Sure, 3 of the 6 games were close, but Dallas showed the fortitude to make rallies in the 4th and have players step at key times. And not just the name players, but the Mavs would not have won the series without Barea, Brian Cardinal, and even Ian Mahinmi. Barea had been solid throughout the playoffs, but Cardinal and Mahinmi hardly played before these last 2 games, yet responded to their unexpected court time with good buckets and good defense and some rebounds. It was definitely a team win - both for Game 6 and for the Championship. For the stats in Game 6, Dallas shot 50% (41-82) FG including 11-26 3-pointers and Miami shot 47.2% (34-72) FG - no surprise that when Dallas hit their shots, they won (Dallas shot 53% FG in Game 5 and won by 9 points). And Miami can't complain about the officiating as they did have friendly whistles. But they hurt themselves by missing free throws - 13 missed free throws in a 10 point game. Dallas shot 12-18 FT and Miami shot 20-33 FT. And Miami had just a 36-34 advantage for points in the paint. Dallas did have a slight rebound edge in out-rebounding Miami 40-39 including 10-9 offensive. But the key was turnovers - and converting on those turnovers. Miami had 17 turnovers and Dallas scored an impressive 27 points on those turnovers. In comparison, Dallas had 14 turnovers on which Miami shored 10 points. No surprise that Dirk Nowitzki was named as MVP of the Finals. But Jason Terry was the MVP of Game 6. Terry was clicking in the 1st half (while Nowitzki struggled mightily) and was the reason Dallas was in the game and even had small leads in the 1st half as he scored 19 points on 8-10 FG and 3-5 3-pointers. And he also scored 6 points in the 4th quarter and had a game high 27 points including 11-16 FG in 34 minutes. Nowitzki only shot 1-12 FG in the 1st half, but did shoot 8-15 FG in the 2nd half. He had 10 points in the 4th quarter - and he had at least 9 points in each 4th quarter of the Finals. For the game, Nowitzki had a double-double with 21 points including 9-27 FG and 1-7 3-pointers and 11 rebounds. J.J. Barea played well and had key buckets at key spots in rallying Dallas or stopping Miami runs and had his inside shots going (well, he was blocked on one of them - but did have a highlight one where he split Mario Chalmers and Chris Bosh under the basket for a layup). Barea had 15 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds. Shawn Marion had 12 points and 8 rebounds and played good defense throughout the series, with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade as part of his responsibilities. Jason Kidd was the steadying hand (on a number of the offensive rebounds, it was he who pulled the ball back out took time to setup a play instead of going for a quick 2nd shot) and had 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 rebounds. Tyson Chandler battled foul trouble and was limited to 30 minutes, but did play all but a minute of the 4th quarter (including the last 6 minutes with 5 fouls). He had 5 points and 8 rebounds. But Chandler's foul problem wasn't a problem as Ian Mahinmi stepped up. Mahinmi hit 2 shots for 4 points (including the one at the end of the 3rd quarter that added to Dallas' momentum) and had 3 rebounds in 11 minutes - he did have 5 fouls, but that was okay. Brian Cardinal's numbers don't look like much, but his only shot went in and it was a 3 and he took a charge on Wade (getting the call this time) which resulted in preventing a Wade bucket on the break and Wade getting a technical. And Cardinal's play allowed Nowitzki to get some rest. Cardinal had 3 points and 1 assist (which resulted in a Nowitzki 3-pointer) in 12 minutes. DeShawn Stevenson had his 3-ball going in the 1st half where he shot 3-4 3-pointers (his only attempts) in 7 1st half minutes for 9 points. He only attempted 1 shot (another 3) in the 2nd half, but played 6 minutes in the 4th quarter. Brendan Haywood was activated for the game, but did not play (not 100% due to his strained right hip flexor and Mahinmi played well). Miami had good performances, but no stellar performances. The Heat had to be surprised that they lost despite having 4 players with 17 or more points. But it was just 17, 18, 19, and 21 points and Dallas' shots were falling and Dallas is one of the best offensive teams when that occurs. LeBron James had a team high 21 points including 9-15 FG, including 7 in the 4th quarter. He also had 6 assists and 4 rebounds, but also had 6 turnovers. Chris Bosh played well, but only attempted 9 shots (and just 2 in the 4th quarter, and he was 6-7 FG through 3 quarters). He had 19 points including 7-9 FG and 8 rebounds. The starting change did work stats-wise from Miami as they actually got some assists from their starting point guard. Mario Chalmers 18 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals, but also had 3 turnovers. 8 of his points came in the 4th quarter (and he played all 12 minutes of the 4th). Surprisingly, Dwyane Wade was the 4th highest Heat scorer in this game with 17 points - he led the Heat in scoring in Games 2-5. He also had 8 rebounds and 6 assists, but also was turnover prone with 5 turnovers. Udonis Haslem chipped in 11 points and 9 rebounds off the bench and was their center in the 4th quarter as starter Joel Anthony did not play in the 4th. Anthony missed 2 shots and had 3 rebounds in just 11 minutes. After playing just 3 1/2 minutes in Game 5 and not even getting in the game in the first 4 games, Eddie House played 21 minutes in Game 6. He did hit 3 3-pointers (his only makes) for 9 points and had 3 rebounds, but all that came in the 1st half as he missed his 3 shots in the 2nd half and had a steal and foul for his only other 2nd half stats in 9 minutes. I was surprised that Mike Miller only played 8 minutes (missing his only shot, a 3-pointer) and wondered if he was hurting or if it just was a coach's decision. Shockingly, Mike Bibby went from starting the first 5 games of the series to not playing in Game 6, coach's decision. Again: The 2011 NBA Champions Dallas Mavericks!!! Quotes Rick Carlisle: "I just want to say that this is a true team. This is an old school bunch. We don't run fast and jump high. These guys had each other's backs. They played the right way. They trusted the pass. This is a phenomenal thing for the city of Dallas." Carlisle: "Dirk Nowitzki is one of the very greatest players in the history of this game. And that has been validated here tonight. He had a tough 1st half, but other guys stepped it up and kept us afloat. And in the 2nd half he was amazing." Carlisle: "I would like to say a couple of things before taking questions. First of all, as I mentioned on the court, our owner is now available for interviews. So you can talk to him. I'm so happy for him. I'm so happy for Dirk. I'm so happy for the Mavericks' organization, which is such a class organization - as are the Miami Heat. A few minutes after the game, Pat Riley came down to congratulate us. And he just showed unbelievable class. We appreciate that. I know Mr. Arison [Miami owner] a little bit. He's one of the great people. And so we hold them in high regard. They were a terrific team. And their time will come - but now it's our time. I also want to say hi to Donna [wife] and Abby [daughter] at home. Hi, guys. See you tomorrow. This is a special team. This is the most special team that I've ever been around, because it's not about what you can't do, it's about what you can do. It's not about what your potential short comings are, it's what we could accomplish as a group together. And it was just phenomenal to be around them. In my 3rd year, I've learned so much from these guys. Especially Jason Kidd. His view of the game is so different, and he's savant-like. He's just been a thrill and a privilege to spend time with him. I don't think there's any doubt after this series that Dirk has certainly earned the clout of being one of the all-time great players. His versatility, how he's done it in the clutch. He goes 1-12 [FG] in the 1st half and then in the 2nd half he was just absolute money. And so I'm really thrilled for him. A couple of people I want to thank that are behind-the-scenes guys. I want to thank Coach Tim Grguich, who came on board on a part-time basis and made a big difference for. And Don Kalkstein, who is our director of sports psyche, who has been a phenomenal resource not only for me but for our players." Carlisle on what he is proud of: "The collective toughness of the group. It's a team that when you view it from afar, it doesn't look like a physically bruising-type team. So a lot of people don't think we have the grit and the guts and the mental toughness. This is as mentally tough team I've been around. I was fortunate to play in the 80s with Boston teams. They were mentally tough. Those were 4 Hall of Famers on those teams. What these guys were able to do collectively, guys like Cardinal, Mahinmi, Barea, these guys played major, major roles in an elimination game in a championship series. You can't dismiss how everybody stayed ready and how everybody answered the bell. So I am just really proud to be around this group." Carlisle: "We had a saying: Mavericks' basketball is 48 minutes. It's not 36, it's not 40. It's 48. And over the course of 48 minutes, we're going to find a way to stay in a game. We're going to find a way to win a game. This team has more resourcefulness and grit and guts than any team I've ever been around. Game 2 was probably the key to the series. Because you go down 0-2, it's very difficult. So coming back from that deficit, coming back in Game 4 in Oklahoma City, those are key games. Because the Oklahoma City game keeps you from going 6 or 7 games, which is really key. And again, it starts with your best players. Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, who was phenomenal tonight. I mean, absolutely: 11-16 from the floor, 27 points. This guy is willing to come off the bench. I just can't tell you as a coach what it means to have guys that are that committed to winning that they will make those kinds of sacrifices." Carlisle on Terry: "We have a lot of guys with questionable sanity. It's not just him. It's interesting. A series like this gets very personal. It gets personal because we have guys that say things, and they do it to get themselves going. Then they have the incident with the camera and the coughing and all that stuff. You get to Game 5, Game 6, and it becomes personal. Our guys took it personally tonight. They were not going to be denied. Dirk and JET have had to live for 5 years with what happened in 2006, and as of tonight, those demons are officially destroyed. They have made a statement that's a colossal statement. Not just about our team, but the game in general. Playing it a certain way. Trusting the pass. Playing collectively. Believing in each other. Our team is not about individual ability - it's about collective will, collective grit, collective guts. We're skilled and talented too, but our game is on the ground. And the guys we were playing, their game was in the air. Fortunately, as the series went on, we stayed on the ground enough to be able to win it." Carlisle: "Look, Miami's time is going to come. Their talent is undeniable. At some point it's going to carry the day. There's no doubt about that. But their time is not now. Our time is now. It needed to be now. They had a great phrase, 'now is the time for us' and it was. It had to be. But the run that we went on with Dirk out of the game, the only thing I can chalk that up to you is one word, resourcefulness. We have the definition of the word 'resourceful' in our locker room. It means able to devise ways and means to accomplish a difficult task in a challenging situation. That's what they did. Look, I can't tell you exactly how that's possible, but that's the kind of guys that Donnie Nelson, Mark Cuban have gotten on our roster. And it's one of the reasons that coaching this team has been so special." Carlisle: "This is one of the really unique teams. This is my opinion now. This is one of the unique teams in NBA history. Because it wasn't about high flying star power. Come on, how often do we have to hear about the LeBron James reality show and what he is or isn't doing? When are people going to talk about the purity of our game and what these guys accomplished? That's what's special. And I played with Larry Bird, I played with Bill Walton, I played with Robert Parish, I played with Dennis Johnson. I played with the all-time greats. And Dirk is up there with that upper, upper echelon of great players. He's arguably the most unique players in the history of the game. Because there's never been a 7-foot player that has developed his skill and his resourcefulness for being able to find ways to score. And he's also a very underrated defensive player. When he wasn't on the floor, our defense suffered as well. I'm so proud of what our team stood for. I kept having people come up to me the last 3 or 4 days, 'Hey, there's billions of people rooting for you guys. There's billions of people rooting for you guys.' And we could feel it. We could feel it. We knew it was very important that we won this series for those reasons. Because of what the game is about, and what the game should stand for. And I'm so, so proud to be a small part of that." Dirk Nowitzki: "I still really can't believe it. We worked so hard and so long for it. The team has been unbelievable riding through ups and downs and always staying together and working. And I still can't even believe it." Nowitzki: "I think we're a veteran team. We've played from behind all season long. And we came back from huge deficits all season long by believing in each other, playing off each other, playing good defense, and offensively I think moving the ball and having fun with each other. So this is unbelievable and the team deserves it. Mavs nation deserves it. They were great to us the last couple of years and it was an amazing ride." Nowitzki: "I couldn't get in a rhythm today for some reason, but the team carried me all night long - they were great. JET [Terry] came out aggressive, really took over the game early. And J.J. was phenomenal. I got to give it up to the fellows. They were unbelievable tonight and really carried me to this win." Nowitzki on winning in Miami: "Oh, man, I don't know. I mean, obviously that was one of my most disappointing losses in my career, to lose the Final series after being up 2-0 [in 2006]. It took so long just to get here. I don't really know if it would have made a difference. Just this feeling to be on the best team of the world is just undescribable." Nowitzki on Terry: "Was he unbelievable tonight or what? Coming out right away in the 1st half and setting a tone. I think he watched me struggle there early and he took it upon himself to really attack and look for his shot early and get going early. Man, he kept coming all night long. He was phenomenal. That one timeout he said to me, 'Keep pushing. Remember 06.' He said that to me in the 4th quarter. We kept plugging. It wasn't pretty for me, but I had to keep plugging and keep fighting." Nowitzki on if winning the championship got the monkey off his back: "I don't really think that way right now. If you're in this league for 13 years of just battling and playoffs last basically 10 years, 11 years and always coming up a little short. That's why this is extra special. If I would have won one early in my career, maybe I would have never put all the work and the time in that I have over the last 13 years. So this feels amazing. I'm happy for Kidd. What a warrior he is at 38, chasing the most athletic players in this league out there and doing a great job on him, and also leading our squad. He's been in this league forever and had 2 chances. Just an unbelievable team. I said it all season long. We had great chemistry with the guys. We had fun in the locker room, on the buses and stuff. So this is a special group. We're World Champions. It sounds unbelievable." Nowitzki: "Well, I just think we're a resilient bunch, and we saw it. This whole series we were down some. We kept battling back. Kept believing in each other. I just think this is a win of team basketball. This is a win for playing as a team on both ends of the floor, of sharing the ball, of passing the ball, and we've been doing that all season long. I'm happy. We never looked at ourselves as soft. Not for one minute. And we just kept fighting." Nowitzki on Carlisle: "Well, I think he's an experienced coach and he pushed all the right buttons. And it took us a while to find a good mix. I think I mentioned that yesterday, of still keeping our defensive principles that Avery [Johnson] installed and also giving Kidd a little more freedom on the offensive end, letting him run the show a little bit, letting him create and letting him call some plays on the fly and push the pace up a little bit. So I think that he did a great job doing that, and during the course of the season, we had to adjust to some stuff. I thought in The Finals he did some phenomenal adjustments here to start J.J., and then decide to let Peja really sit for the series, bring Cardinal in - who has been phenomenal for us this series. Constant pro. Always stayed ready for us. It's an unbelievable team effort and the coaches and the whole organization. I give Mark a lot of credit. Cuban. He stuck with me through thick and thin. He brought all the right players always in, always trying to spend money and make this organization better and this team better. So Mark is the best." Nowitzki: "Man, this is what I obviously played for the last couple of years. I think when you come in in this league you want to establish yourself. All these All-Star Games and all those things are nice, in scoring, but when you get to a certain age, you've basically seen it all and all you play for is for that ring. And I think that's the kind of energy we had from the beginning of the season this year, bringing Tyson in, who was unbelievable for us defensively again. Yeah, it feels amazing now to know that nobody can ever take this away from us again. And for 1 year we're the best team that was out there. That feels amazing." Nowitzki: "Well, I think in a lot of games we kept fighting back. All the wins we got in the 4th quarter, at some point we were down - besides today - and the way we kept plugging. Even in Game 5, we were up like 7 or 8. They made a huge run and they go up by a couple of points. And we had to battle back again and fight through it. So I don't really know where it happened, but we're just a resilient veteran team that always kept coming. We never stopped playing, and we kept believing in each other. That was phenomenal. We talked about it in several timeouts - even when we were down, we have to keep executing, keep playing. You never know what's going to happen. And some of these wins we were able to come back. That was big." Nowitzki: "Well, you know, I think at the beginning I had some problems with the leadership role and talking. But over the last couple of years I think I've been more comfortable. Obviously my English is a lot better than it was when I first got here. So it's just being more experienced, more comfortable talking to the guys, talking to the fellows, and the experience of seeing something on the court that you want to address. And I just think it all came together for me with hard work and experience. It still feels unbelievable." Nowitzki on his Game 6: "It was weird. In the 1st half I had so many good looks. 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-leg fadeaways that I normally make. But like I said, the team always told me, 'Stay with it, stay with it. You're too good of a shooter, too good of a player to keep missing.' So finally there in the 3rd I made a 3. And there in the 4th I was able to make a couple of pull-ups. But like I said, this team every time somebody was down all season long, somebody else stepped in and picked them up. Mahinmi was unbelievable today, since Haywood went out a couple of days ago, and he gives us energy. All of a sudden makes some big shots today. So I think all season long if somebody was down, the team picked him up. So it was an amazing effort." Nowitzki on if winning the Championship changes his outlook on his career: "I don't know. That's something I'll look back to and I can always look back to the 10-11 season and say we're the World Champs. Nobody can ever take that away from me. So that's really the best thing about this. Sticking to Dallas [as a free agent last summer], that was the plan. We fell short so many times and I committed for 4 more years this summer and we didn't really know what was going to happen. We were a 1st round, 2nd round exit a bunch of times. But consistency pays off. Like I said, Mark kept bringing in players. Losing Caron this year was an unbelievable blow. We kept playing, kept fighting through. Bringing Peja in, who was a big addition for us in earlier rounds of the playoffs. So it wouldn't have felt right to win it somewhere else. I'm happy. I obviously made the right decision. And this is also for the Mavs fans, who have been through a lot of disappointments with me over the last couple of years. And they always stuck with me and kept supporting us. And the gym was always full in Dallas during the regular season. This is for them." Nowitzki: "You saw how bad I was tonight, and the guys kept picking me up. JET Terry was phenomenal. And I think he's been the longest [teammate]. We went through 06 together. And he was there for me. And he even mentioned in the 4th, said, 'Remember 06. Let's not happen again.' So he really picked me up. I thought he saw how I struggled early and he came in off the bench early and really took it upon himself and got our rhythm going. Yeah, we've been through the most together." Nowitzki on going to the locker room right after the game: "I had to get away for a moment. I went to the locker room and I had to go and lay down and I cried for a second there. And I had to get my composure back before I came back out. I mean, if you put so much work into something and you finally achieve it, it just feels amazing. So I had to re-group and be by myself for a couple of minutes and then I was able to make it through the trophy presentation." Jason Terry: "Our faith in God, our faith in each other is what prevailed. This team never gave up. When faced with adversity, we always responded. But more importantly, not only the city of Dallas, what we've been through the last 5 years. I go to sleep with it every night [the loss in 2006], Dirk and I, the city of Dallas; and tonight we got vindication." Terry on his strong play late in games: "It's my strength. I'm telling you, I get my strength from God. And then when you do something as crazy as I did [pointing to the championship trophy tattooed on his arm], you got to back it up." Terry on his game: "But to be able to get hot in the game to this magnitude, obviously, all the credit goes to my teammates. Greatest point guard in the world, he's sitting right next to me [Kidd]. Hall of Famer. Understands where to get his teammates the ball in the right situations, in situations to be successful. And I was able to do that early in the game." Terry on his game: "My faith, first of all, is in God. And with that comes the confidence, knowing that you can be successful when you play with guys like we have on this team. You look at what Dirk was able to accomplish this postseason. He played like none other. The year he won MVP doesn't even compare to what he did this year in the postseason. All the critics talked about what he couldn't do, where he fell short. But to carry this team the way he's done is just phenomenal. I'm just happy to be a part of it." Terry: "Going in we never used 05-06 as a motivating factor. 2 totally different teams. You look at what we did along the way, along our journey, getting past Portland. Nobody said we could. Doing what we did to the Lakers. We continued to grind it out, believing in each other, and showed huge resiliency every time we stepped on the court. I thought in this series there was a time and situation where there was a turning point. That was in Game 2. Down 15, we all looked at each other, and we continued to believe. And we win that game and the rest is history." Terry: "Well, Dirk has huge resolve. Regardless of what people say about him, he's going to come to the gym every day and prepare the same way. He's been doing it for so long, and he still doesn't get the credit that he deserves. What he's able to do at his size, at his height, you haven't seen this before. The way he shoots the ball, the way he gets the shot off. What set him apart from all those other years, he made his teammates better. We look back on this whole entire year and what we've accomplished, you're going to look at Dirk Nowitzki's performance, you're going to look at the numbers, but what he meant to Shawn Marion, to Tyson Chandler, to myself, to Jason Kidd, to J.J. Barea, making us raise our level to another level. That's when you have a superstar. And that's when you have a Hall of Famer." Terry on his strong 1st half while Nowitzki struggled: "It wasn't about me carrying the team. It was doing my job. My job is to come in and provide a spark, make plays, make shots. I did my job and I knew if Dirk continued to get the shots he was getting, those were good shots. He wasn't forcing anything. It was coming off great ball movement. I told Jason, I said, 'You might want to talk to him, but I know what I'm going to tell him.' After Deuce [Kidd] said something to him, I told him about halftime, '05-06.' I don't know what it did, but after that he got hot." Terry: "Well for me, I just think about my journey. Where I come from in the city of Seattle, growing up many nights on the playground, emulating the greats, Isiah Thomas, even my hometown heroes like Slick Watts, Downtown Freddy Brown, Magic. Now I'm in the same breath as those guys. They're champions. Dr. J texted me before Game 6. He said, 'Hey, son, it's your time.' I responded to him, 'I want to be a champion, just like you.' Now I am." Terry if it was sweeter having to play Miami: "Again, it was not our motivating factor going in. Now that we have done it, you can say it was sweet vindication. We've been on the other end. We've been the team most hated, the team that's not picked to do anything. So we really didn't care what the critics were saying or what America thought. We just knew that each individual man in that locker room had what it took to win a championship." Jason Kidd: "I just can't believe the journey. The journey, the character of my teammates telling me that they want to give me a championship. And tonight they came out and played well. I came here twice [before to the Finals], this being my 3rd time, so 3rd time is the lucky charm." Kidd: "But we played a great team in the Heat and it was a battle. And we just came out tonight and showed that we didn't want to go to a Game 7." Kidd on what lead to the championship: "I think adversity. We got off to a great start at the beginning of the season. Dirk was playing, if not at an MVP-type season, and then we lose Caron and Dirk [to injury]. And so everybody wrote us off but ourselves. I think going through that period where we lost 6 in a row and looked at each other and said we got to find a way, because those 2 aren't coming back any time soon. Guys stepped up, and we turned it around. I think just going through the journey of those injuries made us a better team, because we had to do a lineup change, and then we did the lineup change during the Finals. And we didn't skip a beat. We just kept playing. That just shows the character of this team. No matter how old you are, we understood how to play the game, by passing the ball and making sure that we didn't take shots where 3 or 4 guys are on you. We just made the extra pass. We didn't care who put the ball in the basket." Kidd: "I think the big thing is understanding the Heat and the way they play defense. They're a big help team. And they over-help a lot of times. And we just felt early in the series we were getting great looks. We just couldn't make a shot. And as the series went on, we felt if we kept moving the ball, we're going to get those same shots, and those shots were going to start to go in for us. And I thought at the end of Game 4 and then in Game 5, the dam in a sense broke. We felt we're a confident group, that this is the way we're going to play and we're going to continue to play until we find a way to win." Kidd: "Shoot, the turning point was in that Game 2, when we looked at each other and we found a way to win, being down 15. We were in that same boat in the Oklahoma series. We were in the same boat in the Portland series - actually, we were in that same situation in every series we were in. Portland we give up the 23 point lead and lose, and we looked at each other and said that can't happen again. And so LA Game 1 we're down 16 or 15 and we find a way to win that. So I think we were a little bit comfortable playing from behind. As much as we wanted to get the lead, it just didn't happen." Kidd: "It's all about my teammates. When you surround yourself with positive guys, young guys that keep you young. And when you look at JET, you look at Dirk, these guys can shoot the ball with the best of them. So that was my challenge, that I wanted to compete and to help my team, I had to be able to knock down the 3 to make it easier for these guys. So I worked on it every day. And no matter what age, as long as you feel you can do something to help your team win, it's a positive thing. I think for me my whole thing was I didn't have to score, but my calmness of telling guys to relax and what I saw out there that maybe helped guys defensively or on the offensive end. So being 38 [years old], you guys talked about it a lot. I don't feel 38 mentally or physically. I feel great." Kidd: "Man, it's a dream come true. It's not real right now, because just the battles against the Heat and understanding the journey, it's been a long journey for 17 years. I thought I had an opportunity in 03 [with New Jersey] to win a championship, and I was on the other end - we lost to the Spurs. My teammates, their character and their will to come every day and work to get better, they deserve all the credit. And so I'm just happy to be at the right place at the right time." Kidd on what it means to founder Don Carter: "I think this is huge for the Carter family. For the down years that Dallas has had and then to still be a part of it once Cuban bought the team, and just to see this day come, I mean, I think they're on cloud 9. We're so happy for them because of what they've done for the franchise is big, because Dallas before only won 27 games or 30 games. And once Cuban took over, he set the bar high of winning 50 games. So to finally finish across the line of the marathon in first place is huge." Tyson Chandler: "This is unbelievable. Unbelievable. We did it for you, Dallas. We worked hard. We came together through training camp, through the regular season. Everything we did, we did it all for you, and now we're bringing a trophy back for everyone." Chandler: "It's been unbelievable. This team, through injuries, through ups and downs, and to get to this point now and be World Champions, I don't even know if it's sunk in yet. It's unbelievable." Chandler: "Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Peja Stojakovic - we really did it for those guys. And Jason Terry, excuse me. Those guys have been to a championship, been to Western Conference Finals, never got over the hump. And to be able to win now, have a legacy, when they decide to retire, as champions, it's an amazing feeling." Chandler: "We were definitely a team, but those guys [Wade, James, Bosh] gave us everything we could handle. They're impressive players, athletes. You know, they're a tough team. Give them credit for making it this far. I'm sure it's tough for them right now, but they've had an unbelievable season." Chandler on people saying Nowitzki is one of the best to never win it: "They can no longer say that. They can no longer say that! Dirk Nowitzki is a champ, baby! You can throw all that soft out the window. The man is a champion!" Chandler: "We've been a team the entire year, from top to bottom. There is no guy on our roster who hasn't contributed to this season. The coaching staff has always believed no matter what position you are on the roster, always be ready for your number to be called. We stuck with that attitude for the preseason, the regular season, the playoffs, the Finals. There was no difference." Shawn Marion: "I'm excited. This is what this is all about. 12 years, and, man, I'm a champion. Nobody can take this away from me. We went out here and all the doubters, all the haters, and we go out there and took this. And we did it the right way - with class, with dignity, and great basketball, and a great team. And I love these guys. We went out here. I came here 2 years ago to win a championship, and we did it, and that's what it's about." Marion on when he thought Dallas could be champions: "Once we got it rolling in the playoffs. In that 1st round, it seemed like we just got it clicking and we just took no prisoners. Everybody was on each other, and we were just doing it." Marion on winning the championship: "Great. You've got so many people that have been destined here. Everybody's been having that edge for a long time. We started this playoffs with our stomachs empty, now they're full. It's full and it's going to get more fuller." Mark Cuban: "It doesn't mean as much to me - it just feels so good for Dirk and Jason Kidd and Jason Terry and Shawn Marion. You know, the whole world was telling us that we were the one-and-done boys. That we were going to get knocked out in the 1st round. This team has so much heart and so much determination and so much to it that you know what, I love every one of them. And let me just tell you, our fans who came down here to Miami - you guys rock! We heard you guys!" Cuban: "Obviously, it feels great. But I'm happiest for Dirk, JKidd, Jason Terry, Donald Carter, Mavs fans, the city of Dallas. Hopefully I'll have more cracks at it. These are the guys laid it out every single day, played through pain. So I'm happiest for them." Cuban: "I could care less about the Heat. That's their problem. We played a great game. The Heat is a great team. They did their thing, we did ours. We scored more points. So that's all that matters." Cuban on what he's learn: "I learned chemistry matters. That it's a team game. That you have to have players that believe in each other and trust each other and trust your coach. And that's a process. It doesn't happen overnight. There's no quick solutions. There's not a single template for winning the championship. If there was, everybody would do it. And so you just have to ignore people from the outside and just really stick to what you know and try to get smarter and be opportunistic. That's what the Dallas folks have heard me say forever. We're going to be opportunistic and build a team. That's what we tried to do." Cuban: "I could care less about the other teams. I care about our team. I care about the heart we've shown. I care about the focus, the determination, the fact that we were able to exclude everybody who doubted us. You know, like I said after the game, there are folks in the media calling us the one-and-done boys'. Teams who wanted to play us. I don't care what other people think. I try to pay attention to who we are and what we're doing and what our culture is and do we have the people who can execute what we're trying to accomplish. Nobody inside that locker room ever doubted it." Erik Spoelstra on the end of the season: "It's a little bit too early right now. None of us really expected this. Our hats go off to Dallas. They certainly earned this. It was a tough series, you know, and sometimes you just come up short. And we can come up with a myriad of reasons why. When it was crunch time and need to be done, they made bigger plays than us. But we're still proud of the season that we had. But at some time we'll be able to look back on it and feel it without feeling the pain we feel right now." Spoelstra on the media talk about the Big 3: "I don't think that the noise from the outside had an effect - that would be taking away a lot of the credit to Dallas. There is no excuses. There is no blame. We just came up short. And there is an emptiness right now to it. We went through a lot together. But all of us really grew from it. And now we just have to move on." Spoelstra: "I think it goes without saying you're never really prepared, you know, for a moment like this. That's certainly not what we were expecting. Our hats go off to Dallas. Neither team deserved this championship more than the other, but Dallas earned it and they should be congratulated. When it was time for them to make tough plays and make big baskets in crunch time when they needed it, they did. We had opportunities. There's certainly an emptiness right now with our group. We've been through a heck of a lot this season, where in many ways it felt like two seasons built in one. There's no excuses. There's no blame. Sometimes you simply come up short. All of the storylines and noise out there, that had nothing to do with this series and the outcome. But it doesn't make it feel any easier for the guys in the locker room. One day we'll probably be able to look back on this, sometime this summer when the emptiness and the pain leaves, and we'll feel better about what happened. It's a special group. A lot of guys sacrificed to make this happen. It was unfortunate we just came up short." Spoelstra: "Tonight they went to the zone obviously late in the 1st quarter and that took us out of our rhythm. They were in a very good flow. That's what they do. They don't stay in the zone very long. But it's enough to get you a little bit out of your rhythm, out of your comfort zone. By the time they come back into man, you've lost some possessions. So when he [James] was able to be aggressive, the zone took him out of that. But he was still trying to make an impact. And ultimately you do have to give Dallas some credit." Spoelstra: "Each series is different. I've said this many times and certainly I can say it to you all out there, it's a lot easier said than done. You do have to give credit to the Mavericks. They weren't given enough credit this season as a defensive team, but they're much improved. And so they were able to do some things that got us out of our rhythm, certainly from the first 3 rounds. LeBron has been a lightning rod for a lot of everything. Criticism, and a lot of the noise that's been created outside. I think it's really unfair. He made a tremendous sacrifice to come here, and he's been an ultimate team player. He should not be criticized for that. Sometimes there's no excuses, there's no blame, sometimes you just simply come up short. And the competition you're playing against sometimes plays better." Spoelstra on if there is anything wrong with James: "No, there's nothing physically wrong. Looking back on it, I'm sure all summer, I'll wish I could probably find ways to make it easier for our guys. Particularly in this series. We struggled at times. Sometimes we looked good offensively, other times we looked out of rhythm and we looked a little out of character. Again, I think part of that is the competition." Spoelstra on what he said to his team after the game: "Some of the same messages I told you. Some of them are between myself and the team. But this group has been through a lot this season. Not at all looking for any kind of sympathy. It was a memorable season, in terms of a group of guys coming together for a common goal to sacrifice a lot of things that they're comfortable with. It was a hard working, lunch pail type mentality group that came to work every day to try to chase down this dream. There's an emptiness when you don't reach your goal. There's nothing we can say right now that will make that pain go away. Maybe it's as simple as it being a rite of passage before we have to move on and take the next step." Spoelstra on the season: "Well, I'm sure all of the unusual circumstances the way this team was viewed, right or wrong or indifferent, we had to go through a lot together. And it's really a beautiful thing. Where you are forced into uncomfortable zones, where there's some adversity, where there are things that you have to band together to get through. There's no question about it that we became a tougher team. A mentally tougher team by going through a lot of the things together, a lot of the pain. But we just couldn't get over this final hump." Spoelstra on James saying before the season that he wanted to win multiple championships: "It doesn't matter what happened back then. We had an opportunity right now. That didn't affect it. It didn't affect our play. It didn't affect our competition. We put ourselves in a position to have an opportunity, and it might be as simple as that. We came up short. We got beat by a team that played better than us. Particularly at the moment of truth." Spoelstra on Dallas: "They'll be known as NBA Champions. Nobody will ever take that away from them. Who cares about any other storyline. They have a bunch of Hall of Famers on that team, a lot of winners, a tremendous amount of experience. Those guys have been through some pain, some heartache, and that hardens you. It toughens you to when you get to the moment of truth, that they were able to respond. Dirk Nowitzki is simply one of the all-time greats. And he was when we played him in 2006. His game has continued to elevate in his 30s. That's a remarkable thing. I think that's a great lesson for NBA players. You can still improve as you get older and add more skills and dimensions to your game. He is probably one of the most indefensible players in this league, because of his skill set, his shooting and his size. And now he's seen every single coverage he can possibly see." Spoelstra on if the journey to a championship involves a loss before the win: "It could be that it is a rite of passage, but that's not what we were thinking about. This is the furthest thing from my mind, that I would be up here in front of you all right now. I told the guys before the game, don't apologize. Don't apologize for being confident. We thought that this was going to Game 7, and we thought that's where we would be our best. It just didn't happen that way. So we still have a young core. It's a bright future. In the next upcoming weeks, I'm sure we'll be able to highlight that in a better mood." Spoelstra on 17 turnovers: "You know, it's probably a combination of a lot of things. You know, again, the habits that we built all season long would suggest that how we played at times during this series was very uncharacteristic. That's not how we played during the season and that certainly wasn't the way we played in the 1st 3 rounds. And so that would probably lend and suggest that a large part of this would probably be the competition. Now, yes, we will beat ourselves up about so many things we could have done better. But ultimately, that's what this stage is about. And sometimes as tough as it is to admit, sometimes you get beat by a team that it was their time. And that will be a tough thing for us to swallow, this emptiness that we'll feel now during the off-season. It will be a tough pill for all of us." Wade on if Miami choked: "First of all, we give credit to the Dallas Mavericks. They're a hell of a team. The word 'choked' is overused in sports, period. We lost ballgames. We lost the Finals. We ran into a team that at this time obviously was better than us. So we give them credit, and we take nothing away from that." Wade: "No matter what, you are never ready for your season to end. Whether it ends during the regular season, in the 1st round, you always are shocked, especially in the playoffs, when your season comes to an end. You can never predict it. At this point, obviously if you don't win a championship - no matter if it's Game 6 or Game 7 - you're going to be highly disappointed. So, you know, obviously in the midst of losing, we feel it, but we'll feel it more tomorrow. And the more time we get to think about it and think about how close an opportunity we had, it will burn inside of us as competitors. At the end of the day, it will drive us to get back in this position again. So we understand that our goal is to win a championship. We wasn't able to accomplish that year one. But this ain't the end of the Miami Heat. We'll use this as motivation and come back and try to do it again." Wade on when they lost the series: "It got away from us tonight when they won. This series was a close series the whole way. They were able to put a great run together tonight. We can never get over the hump. Every time we closed within 4 or 3, they just continued to make shots. So this series could have went either way for a long time, until they pulled away tonight. Like I said, we give them much credit. Their resolve was stronger than ours in this series. So we'll learn from that, and we'll come back as a better team and try to use some of the experience that we learned in this championship round." Wade on Nowitzki: "I think he's played awesome, man. Obviously Dirk, 5 years ago, it burned in him. He learned from that experience. Even though he was 1-12 in the 1st half, he came out and made big shots for his team. He kept being aggressive, he kept shooting. So there's no question he's been a great individual player, and now that he's a champion. It goes without saying what does it mean for his career. So congratulations to him." Wade on people rooting against Miami: "Well, me personally, honestly, we can't worry about that. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone has options in life, and whether they want to be a Miami Heat fan or not, we cannot worry about that. The only thing we can do is go out for our supporters and our fans and our family and play the game the right way and enjoy it while we have it. So obviously a lot of people wanted Dallas to win more so than us for many reasons. But that wasn't the reason that we lost, and that wasn't the reason they won. It had nothing to do about the game of basketball when it started. But, obviously, going forward, we're going to come back in and no matter if we're loved or not, we're going to come back in and we're going to work hard every day, like we do, and we're going to approach the game the way we always do." Wade on the win being a victory of a team over a group of individuals: "Well, I mean, I personally think we all are individuals that become a team. Same thing with Dallas. They had to put pieces together to get a championship. They did a great job of that. I think signing Tyson Chandler this summer was probably the thing that helped them get to this point. We did a good job of bringing individuals together to become a team. That's the way it happens. No matter what caliber of a player it is, everyone fits. It's like a puzzle. And their pieces came together a little bit better than ours at the end." Wade on Miami having a large payroll: "They have a top-heavy payroll. We have a top 3-heavy payroll. A lot of guys who took minimums to be here. I believe they have a top payroll as well, I'm pretty sure. Obviously everyone looks at us 3 signing together and thinking we have the highest payroll in the NBA. We don't at all. They put a championship team together. No matter which way you do it, signing Dirk was big obviously this summer. Adding Tyson Chandler and adding Shawn Marion a year ago was big. So they've been building it. Eventually we're going to build it. It just didn't happen this year." LeBron James: "I mean, sometimes you got it, sometimes you don't. And that was this case in this series. I was able to do things in the last 2 series to help us win ballgames. Wasn't able to do that in this series. Once you get to the playoffs, every game is pressure. You want to win. You have to win. And I mean, we've seen some of that in the Chicago series, we seen some of that in the Boston series. Even though we lost Game 4, we lost Game 4 in Philly, there's pressure in that series as well. So it doesn't matter which round it is. Once you get to the postseason, every possession counts." James on what he was unable to do in the Finals: "Live in the paint. They did a great job of every time I drove, they brought another extra defender in front of me. They did a great job defensively. Very underrated defensive team. Took me out of a lot of things that I'm capable of doing or used to doing. It took us out of a lot of things we're capable of doing, that's getting points to the paint and getting to the free throw line. So they did a good job. Much respect to them." James on the loss: "It hurts, of course. I'm not going to hang my head low. I know how much work as a team we put into it. I know how much work individually that I've put into it, when you guys are not around. That's something people don't see. I think you can never hang your head low when you know how much work, how much dedication you put into the game of basketball when the lights are off and the cameras are not on." James on the criticism: "No, that doesn't bother me. I understand this is a huge stage, and you want to perform well for nobody else besides your teammates. That's ultimately what it's about for me. If I can play well for my teammates, help my teammates win basketball games, then I'm always satisfied with that. It hurts me, and I get on myself when I'm not able to play well and help my teammates win." James on if it bothers him that people want him to lose: "Absolutely not. Because at the end of the day, all the people that was rooting on me to fail, at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today. They have the same personal problems they had today. I'm going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want to do with me and my family and be happy with that. They can get a few days or a few months or whatever the case may be on being happy about not only myself, but the Miami Heat not accomplishing their goal, but they have to get back to the real world at some point." James on if the criticism affected him: "I don't think so. I pretty much don't listen to what everybody has to say about me or my game or what I've done with my career. I don't get involved in that. This is year after year after year for me. Me as an individual, people write or say what they want to say about me. It doesn't weigh on me at all. Like I said, the only thing that weighs on me is when I don't perform well for my teammates and the guys that I play for every day. That's the only thing that weighs on me. Because I take pride in going out there and doing the things that need to be done to help my teammates win. That's it." James on what he thought going into the 4th quarter: "Honestly, it was about 4th quarter defense and trying to get buckets. We got into a good groove to start the 4th. I think J.J. Barea's 3 at the end of the shot clock was a huge shot. Put them up 7. That was a huge shot. I think it was 81-77 at that time. He hit a shot, the 3 at the end of the shot clock. We played defense 23 straight - great defense for 23 straight seconds and he hit a shot like that. So it took a little bit out of us. You don't want to dig a hole like that against anyone. Especially on your home floor going into the 4th." James: "Any time you feel like you get to the top of the mountain and you fall off, there's definitely a personal failure. It was a failure in 07 when we lost to the Spurs when I was in Cleveland, it's a failure now for myself losing to the Mavericks. Absolutely." James: "I can only prepare myself each year. In the summertime I'll put a lot of hard work into my individual game, try to bring my individual game to a team, and I work hard every day as an individual to go out there and perform at a high level for my teammates and for myself. I got close. Won 2 more games than I did in 07, and hopefully next time I get here I'll win 2 more games than I did in 11." James on his struggles: "I've been in this league 8 years. There's no distractions that can stop me from trying to chase an NBA Championship. Not you guys, not anything that goes on that's not focused on my team and my teammates and what we're out there - what we're out set to do. Like I said before, I work hard to try to put myself in position to play at a high level. When you go out on the court, does the ball always go in? Absolutely not. But the one thing I know, I never hold my head low in saying, I didn't do it the right way or I wish I would have did this. It's not about that. I put a lot of hard work into this season individually. We all did. So we have nothing to hang our heads low. Just use this as an extra motivation to help myself become a better player for next year." Chris Bosh on what he said to Kidd after the game: "I really don't remember. All I remember was telling those guys that they deserve it. Hands down, they were the better team in this series, and they played together well. They deserve everything they've gotten. It was really congratulating them and just moving on." Bosh on why they lost the series: "Well, I think if you just look at it as far as playing the better series, they just played the best basketball. Dirk constantly knocked down open shots. I mean, today he showed a lot of perseverance in just bouncing back. They made our defense work at the end of the day. It's just a great team. I think we did everything we could to win. We made a lot of mistakes, they made a lot of mistakes. But at the end of the day, they came out on top. All we can do is just admit it and move forward." Bosh on James' struggles: "Well, I mean at the end of the day, man, you know, you always want to play your best basketball at the most opportunistic time, but it just doesn't work out like that. Everything mentally and physically was good. I think with every individual, with the team. Physically, everybody is going to go through pain. They've done the same thing. But they wanted it more than we did. They played great, we came up short, and that's really it." Bosh: "We played together. They just did a better job. They were the better team. That's what I mean by that. And I mean there's no hiding. In the NBA you play a series, best of 7 games, usually the better team is going to win. So we've got a lot of work to do. We have to go back to the drawing board. It hurts to come this far and come up short, but it's disappointing, but hopefully we can use this for motivation going forward." Bosh on if he felt the game got away from them: "I mean, you never feel that way. You always play the game out. You just play the game how it goes. Plenty of times they were down, they came back. We were down, we came back. It's always a game of runs. But today they just had that whole collective effort. They had timely shots, they had timely offensive rebounds, they never got flustered. They just kept their composure and kept coming in waves. And when it was time, they just stayed tight and they executed very well. When things broke down, Jason Terry, Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd, they hurt us with their shots." Bosh on James: "I mean, guys try. At the end of the day guys try. Fall short, whether it's good or bad, it doesn't really matter. We lost the game. Individual performances, whether you win or lose, it doesn't matter." Bosh: "Well, I mean, just looking back on it, this was our first year. Absolutely we would like to have won it this year. But just being optimistic, looking forward, yeah, I mean, there's a bright spot, but we have to work and we have to develop that mindset to go get it and just keep it there, and use it as motivation. It's a disappointing thing, yeah. A bunch of other great teams always come up a little short year after year in some cases. Some turn around quicker than others. The process is not - this isn't a good feeling, you know? We just have to move forward, man. We can't do anything about it right now. We'll never do anything about it. All we can do is look ahead." Bosh on only shooting 9 shots: "I would have liked to have gotten more involved, but I was just playing the game as it went. Looking back at it, yeah, I had it going a little bit. I was in a good place for the game. I was ready to play, and I was really looking forward to having a great output. But I don't know what to say, man. Yeah, I should have shot the ball way more." Bosh on Nowitzki: "Well, I mean, Dirk was just being himself. You can't really take that away. You can't say he wasn't. There's nothing extra, there's nothing super. He was just himself. He's a consistent basketball player, a great shooter and a great leader of that team. And in these situations, I think when you're yourself and you play your basketball, the best things always happen. I know he's worked very hard for a very long time, and you know what, he deserves it. I think we can take a page out of their book and really just pay attention to people's work ethic and how much time they put into the game. Obviously, what we did wasn't enough. Unfortunately we have to go back to the drawing board and hopefully have a consistent off-season and come back next year stronger." Mario Chalmers: "A lot of different emotions, a lot of people mad, a lot of people sad. Tough loss for us, especially on our homecourt." Chalmers: "Great season. Made a lot of sacrifices among the group. Take this loss, think about it, and bounce back." Chalmers: "I wouldn't question the effort. I think we fought hard all the way to the end. The last 2 games, I think they just hit shots at the end of games." Chalmers on the missed free throws: "Definitely disappointing because we work on them every day. I missed 3 or 4. We really had a tough night at the line." Chalmers on if James was frustrated: "I didn't see any frustration. I just saw a determination to come back and win. That's what I was seeing in the face of our guys." Chalmers: "No, I didn't think it would end like this." Chalmers on if the season was a failure: "You could say that, but at the same time, we fought hard all year, even to get to this position with a new team and new faces. It just shows that if we put our minds together we're a tough team to beat and we have to figure out a way to get back here next year." Udonis Haslem: "We all play for the same thing. They've had some great regular seasons in Dallas only to stumble in the playoffs. For whatever reasons, it wasn't our time. It was their time." Haslem on James: "LeBron is the best basketball player in the NBA. Any one who says otherwise just doesn't know. All the teams that complain about him being here are the ones that wanted him. This series wasn't about what he or any of us didn't do. It was about what Dallas did do." Joel Anthony: "Every time we would make a run somebody would hit a big shot or make a big play. They made more shots than we did. They just never let it get away from them." 2011 Playoffs - NBA Finals: Game 6 Dallas Mavericks 105, Miami Heat 95 at Miami (June 12) Finals MVP: Dirk Nowitzki 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 32 21 28 24 - 105 .536 .423 .500 .667 Miami 27 24 21 23 - 95 .551 .304 .472 .606 Halftime: Dallas 53-51 3rd Q: Dallas 81-72 Technicals: DeShawn Stevenson 6:25 2nd, Udonis Haslem (Mia) 6:25 2nd, Mario Chalmers (Mia) 6:25 2nd, Dwyane Wade (Mia) 3:55 3rd Refs: Steve Javie, Scott Foster, Derrick Stafford Attendance: 20,003 (sellout) IL: Dallas - Caron Butler, Dominique Jones, Brendan Haywood Miami - Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jamaal Magloire, Dexter Pittman Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Shawn Marion 35 4-10 0-0 4-6 12 3-8 1 2 3 1 0 Dirk Nowitzki 39 9-27 1-7 2-2 21 0-11 1 2 4 2 0 Tyson Chandler 30 2-4 0-0 1-2 5 2-8 1 1 5 2 0 Jason Kidd 36 2-4 2-3 3-4 9 0-4 8 2 1 0 1 J.J. Barea 30 7-12 1-3 0-0 15 2-3 5 3 3 2 0 Brian Cardinal 12 1-1 1-1 0-0 3 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 Jason Terry 34 11-16 3-7 2-4 27 1-3 2 3 1 2 0 Ian Mahinmi 11 2-3 0-0 0-0 4 2-3 0 0 5 1 0 DeShawn Stevenson 13 3-5 3-5 0-0 9 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 Totals 48 41-82 11-26 12-18 105 10-40 19 14 24 11 1 Miami Heat REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK LeBron James 40 9-15 2-5 1-4 21 1-4 6 6 2 1 1 Chris Bosh 39 7-9 0-0 5-7 19 0-8 0 1 1 1 0 Joel Anthony 11 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 Dwyane Wade 41 6-16 0-4 5-7 17 3-8 6 5 3 1 2 Mario Chalmers 39 5-12 2-7 6-9 18 0-3 7 3 2 3 0 Mike Miller 8 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Udonis Haslem 34 4-9 0-0 3-4 11 3-9 0 0 3 0 0 Juwan Howard 7 0-1 0-0 0-2 0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Eddie House 21 3-7 3-6 0-0 9 0-3 1 0 3 1 0 Totals 48 34-72 7-23 20-33 95 9-39 20 17 14 7 3 Go Mavs! 2011 NBA Champions!!! patricia ---- Patricia Bender pbender@eskimo.com For Trianglons puzzles: http://www.trianglons.com For NBA stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html For Mavs stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs.html