I watched the first three quarters of this game live yesterday, then, thinking Miami had it sealed up, put it on record to go do some work. Boy, was that a mistake.

When I finally got around to watching the rest of the game I realised a couple of things.

1) Miami still can’t close games with any surety
2) Dirk Nowitzki may be the best player in the entire series right now.

To the votes then…

3 Points – Dirk Nowitzki. Wade had the better all-round performance, but Dirk has to get the 3 points after his team not only won but he made the game-winning layup on his injured hand, after leading the Mavs back from 88-73 down. That was their third massive comeback in their past five games these playoffs. If nothing else, they’ll finish having shed the “chokers” tag once and for all.

2 Points – Dwayne Wade. On any other day, Wade would have gotten the 3 points even if Miami had lost. He was the single most dominant player for the whole game except the last two minutes. Not only did the Heat blow it down the stretch but one could argue that Wade’s taunting after hitting a 3 in front of the Mavs bench is what really woke them up. I couldn’t give him 3 points after that.

1 Point – Jason Terry. Like I said in the preview. If the Mavs are gonna win, their bench has to be effective all series. They weren’t in Game 1 and it hurt them. This time Terry stepped up. Puerto Rican Guy will have his turn in Game 3.

Robd’s 2 cents: I still think the Heat will win the series, but I say that with a lot less confidence than I did two days ago. This is the type of loss that can haunt you. This is the type of victory for Dallas that can galvanize a team and erase all fear and doubt. The same thing happened in Game 4 of the 2008 Finals.

We all forget that during the first half of that game, the Lakers were looking as good as they had any time during those playoffs (not dissimilar to how Miami looked in the 4th of this game).  It seemed like a formality they would level the series at 2-2, and with the momentum of a huge win, probably take game 5 at home and look to close it out in Boston. That never happened of course. The Celtics launched a mammoth comeback (not as impressive as the Mavs yesterday who did it all in the fourth) and stunned the Lakers, killing their confidence and eventually finishing the series in effectively what was a 6-game sweep. We look back at those Finals and think “that wasn’t even close”. But my friends, it was oh-so close up until that Laker collapse in Game 4. I just wonder if this will have a similar result for the Heat?

1. The Mavs are Coming
2. Dallas Mavericks - 2009 NBA Blog Preview
3. Day 36 - Mavs Unleash The Lightning Rod
4. 2011 Finals Game 4 - Brought To You By My Credit Card
5. 2011 Finals Game 5 - The Defining Game

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