DALLAS -- For Pat Riley, it's the first time in 18 years he can say it. For Shaquille O'Neal, it's been four years, and for Alonzo Mourning, Gary Payton and Dwyane Wade -- especially Wade -- it's the first time they can make the claim.
Champions, all of them. All of the Miami Heat.
In a decisive Game 6 that capped one of the most stunning turnarounds in NBA Finals history, the Heat finished off the Dallas Mavericks and showed themselves to be worthy of being crowned champions by riding their young superstar to the first title in franchise history with a 95-92 victory Tuesday night.
Wade didn't quite score 40 this time, as he had twice before in this series, but he came awful close with 36 points and avoided a nightmare finish after blowing a pair of free throws with 9.1 seconds left to give the Mavericks one final chance.
But that chance ended with Jason Terry's 3-point attempt bouncing high and hard off the rim, Wade getting the rebound with a second left and no Mavericks anywhere near him. He tossed the ball high in the air and the Heat players bounded off the bench in celebration, so many years of waiting for so many of them finally having come to an end.
"I don't want to say I put the team on my back. You know, we did it together. Like Coach said, like we've all been saying, it's been 15 strong," Wade said. "They gave me the opportunity by putting the ball in my hands to prove people wrong. When I came [into] the series, it was, I can't shoot. I don't know where they got that from. So I proved to them I can shoot, and then after that, I proved I can play, and that's all I tried to do: prove people wrong."
Miami became just the third team in NBA Finals history to win a series after dropping the first two games, and the first to do it after losing Games 1 and 2 by double-digit margins. This series actually looked lost for the Heat with 6½ minutes left in Game 3 when they trailed by 13 on their home court, but the Mavericks relaxed too soon and never got their groove back, earning the dubious distinction of becoming the first team to lose the NBA Finals in the fourth quarter of Game 3.
Aside from Wade's 36, Miami got 17 points from Udonis Haslem, 14 from Antoine Walker and just nine from O'Neal. Still, he's a four-time champion now, and Wade might just be on his way to chasing Shaq's total. He won the Finals MVP Award and proved himself worthy in this series of carrying the superstar label that's bestowed upon him.
"He was very much the heart of an extraordinary team," commissioner David Stern said in awarding Wade the MVP trophy.
"He just took it to another level," Riley said. "You all witnessed it. You all watched it. Players like that are very hard to come by, and to watch them grow right in front of you, you know, he's making his legacy in his third year. We're blessed to have him."
Wade's first point didn't come until 1:58 remained in the first quarter, and he had seven by the end of the quarter as part of a 15-4 run that got the Heat right back into contention. The score was 36-31 Mavs midway through the second quarter when Stern was shown on the videoboard, and the fans let him have it with boos. He hasn't been the most popular man in this town ever since Mark Cuban bought the Mavericks, and his league's suspension of Stackhouse for Game 5 and quarter-million dollar fine against Cuban prior to Game 6 fueled this latest booing, which was pretty intense.
Miami went scoreless during the 2½ minutes that Wade rested in the second quarter, and he came off the bench a little rusty. One of his three turnovers in the quarter led to a breakaway dunk by Marquis Daniels to get the Mavs' lead up to 46-36, but Wade led Miami back -- with some help from a highly questionable foul against Daniels that led to a three-point play as part of a 13-0 run that ended with a two-handed slam by Mourning off a behind-the-back pass from Jason Williams -- and ended the half with 19 points as Miami led 49-48 at the break.
A strong defensive stretch helped the Heat open a nine-point lead, but the game started to change after Mourning missed a foul shot that would have completed a three-point play, and the Mavericks turned the long rebound into a fast break that Daniels ended with an emphatic dunk. A subsequent three-point play by Daniels brought the Mavs even closer, and they trailed only 71-68 entering the fourth quarter.
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Dwyane Wade HLTS G3 - 2006 NBA Finals - June 13, 2006by TheDWadeVault5,982 views
@lilgangstabball Wade used to attack like no other until his injury. plus watch game 3 when they where about to go down 3-0. he made plenty of jumpers and clutch defensive plays during that comback. you say its fixed? how the hell does dallas take game 1 and 2? where the refs just waiting to clutch their straws?
hellokitylv 3 weeks ago
Jason terry glad to get revenge in 2011 Thanks to Lebron
MrRel23 2 months ago
Chi-town has great nba Talent
MrRel23 2 months ago
@Basketballjordanpip it might have something to do with the fact that d wade attacks the basket more than mj and kobe.
FLASH2394 3 months ago
@lilgangstabball i dont know bout fix but refs just call too close for wade
Basketballjordanpip 3 months ago
Wade shots 18 free throws in game 3
On game 5 he shot 25 free throws
On game 6 he shot 21 free throws
In one series wtf not even kobe n mj got dat many throws in one series damn obviously the refs gave the finals to the heat wtf how sad
Basketballjordanpip 3 months ago
TO this day I wonder who got hit with the ball after Wade threw it up.
Zachrydaman 4 months ago
jason terry mut have been pissed
victor1993k 5 months ago
@dreaminmonee he's 6'4 but yeah, he's underrated unfortunately
buckda54 7 months ago
lol cuban looks pitiful clapping at the end
DontTakeCrack 8 months ago