Category: NBA Finals (Page 54 of 58)

After a miserable showing in Dallas, losing two games to the Mavs, the Heat came home and found a way to prevail in three ‘must-win’ games, becoming the first team in the 2-3-2 format to win the middle three games at home. All Dallas had to do was take one game in Miami and they knew they’d have two opportunities to close out the series at home.

What kind of series odds could be had in Las Vegas when Dallas was up 13 with just under seven minutes to play in Game 3? Maybe one time out of twenty will a team come back from that deficit after looking so bad for almost three full games. The Mavs really squandered Game 3, looked hungover from the loss in Game 4, and ran into a brick wall named Dwayne Wade in Game 5.

So here we are, back in Dallas with the Mavs facing two elimination games. Will the team automatically play better because they’re at home? The oddsmakers think so. At this point, the Mavs are favored –130 in the series, which means a bettor would have to put down $130 on the Mavs to win $100. Conversely, the Heat are +110, which means that a bettor would win $110 on a $100 bet. So Vegas is saying that the odds are slightly in Dallas’ favor.

As bad as Dallas looked at times in Miami, they should have won Game 3 and could have won Game 5, while the Heat didn’t really have a chance to win either of the first two games. Both teams had to travel after playing on Sunday, and face a Tuesday/Thursday schedule this week, so I’m going to stick with my prediction and take the Mavs in seven. But Dallas isn’t going to win if they can’t get a handle on Dwayne Wade, who has scored 121 points in the last three games. He appears to be over the affects of the flu and he has shrugged off a sore knee. If he has another monster game and Dirk Nowitzki doesn’t match it, the Mavs will be in trouble.

Miami 101, Dallas 100 (Mavs lead series, 3-2)
Dallas led by as many as 11, and Avery Johnson used Hack-a-Shaq to his advantage, forcing O’Neal out of the game for a few minutes in crunch time. But the Heat came back behind some fantastic play from Dwayne Wade to force overtime. Every possession in the extra period was pressure packed. With under a minute to play and the Mavs leading by one, Josh Howard went to the line to shoot two free throws and the 73% shooter missed both shots. On the ensuing possession, Gary Payton laid the ball high off the class over the outstretched arm of Erick Dampier, giving the Heat a one point lead with 0:29 to play. Not to be outdone, Dirk Nowitzki hit a torturous 15-footer with two guys in his face to give the Mavs the lead with 0:09 remaining. Dallas went into a zone on the next play, and Wade benefited from a very generous foul call which sent him to the line to shoot two shots. He made the first and Avery Johnson asked for a timeout after the second shot, but Howard called timeout after the first shot, which made it impossible for the Mavs to advance the ball after the second shot. Wade made the second and Devin Harris’ desperation shot was off the mark, giving the Heat a 3-2 advantage in the series. After several looks at Wade’s drive, it was a bad call, but that’s why there’s a home court advantage. It’s just too bad that it’s those kinds of calls that decides games and, ultimately, the series. Dallas has to win both games at home, so the pressure is definitely on the Mavs in Game 6. Dwayne Wade scored 43, while Shaquille O’Neal had 18 points and 12 rebounds. Jason Terry led the Mavs with 35 points, while Howard and Nowitzki scored 25 and 20, respectively.

All is not lost if the Mavs drop Game 5, but falling down 3-2, after leading 2-0 in the series would put Dallas in a tough spot. The Mavs should have won Game 3, but they didn’t and now they’re facing a huge Game 5. Now that Jerry Stackhouse has been suspended for tonight’s game, it becomes even more critical that Dirk Nowitzki play well.

Nowitzki went 2-14 from the field in Game 4. He did go 11-13 from the foul line, ending up with 16 points. But Dallas needs more than that from their star. This is a career defining moment and Dirk needs to have a career defining game.

Sure, Dallas can lose tonight and still have a shot at the series. But after dropping three straight, the momentum would definitely be in Miami’s favor. If Nowitzki can come up big tonight, it would put his team in great position to win the series.

As if the Mavs needed any more bad news at this point, Jerry Stackhouse has been suspended for Game 5 for his flagrant foul against Shaquille O’Neal in Game 4.

At the time, Stackhouse was called for a flagrant foul. But after reviewing the play and discussing the details with both players, league vice president Stu Jackson opted to upgrade the punishment to a suspension.

“The contact by Jerry Stackhouse was clearly excessive and warrants a suspension,” Jackson said in a release.

Stackhouse is Dallas’ top reserve. He’s averaging 13.8 points this postseason and 13.0 in the finals. He had 16 in Game 2, including 10 straight over the final 79 seconds of the first half that propelled the Mavericks to a victory.

Earlier Friday, Dallas coach Avery Johnson said he didn’t think such a penalty was warranted, noting that O’Neal wasn’t penalized for hitting Stackhouse hard enough in Game 1 that he opened a gash that required three stitches to close.

I think the flagrant foul was a fair call, but a suspension is overkill.