Not even close, and a year unlike any other ended they way they all have so far - with him still waiting for an NBA title. "Tonight," Jason Terry said, "we got vindication." "I really still can't believe it," said Nowitzki, who had 21 points and took home finals MVP honors. The Mavericks won four of the series' last five games, a turnabout that could not have been sweeter. He's an NBA champion.įor LeBron James, the agonizing wait continues for at least one more year.Īvenging what happened five years ago in perfect turnabout style, the Dallas Mavericks won their first NBA title by winning Game 6 of these finals in Miami 105-95 on Sunday night - celebrating on the Heat's home floor, just as Dwyane Wade and his team did to them in the 2006 title series. That’s what teamwork’s all about.MIAMI - For Dirk Nowitzki, the resume is complete. He made a key rebound and delivered a basket to help set the Mavericks up for their best moment ever. They were teammates for two seasons including Dallas’ championship season against a Heat team many loved to hate.įor a few minutes in Game 6 in 2011, Mahinmi didn’t just give Nowitzki a few minutes of rest. And their friendship was possible, not just because they hold burgundy EU passports. Like many European NBA players young and not-so-young, Mahinmi looks up to Nowitzki. Mahinmi went on to say that he learned about Nowitzki’s work ethic and how he applied it to his game which includes push-ups on fingers instead of flat hands. That hate would turn to love and respect after that 2010-11 NBA championship season. “Coming from the Spurs to the Mavs, it’s a big rivalry. “When I went, I was fairly young and I didn’t know what to expect,” Mahinmi said in an interview with Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. Nowitzki played last Wednesday in Washington for German Heritage Night when the Mavericks came and Mahinmi gave his thoughts on the future Hall of Famer, initially saying that he hated him. But Nowitzki is still an active player with the Mavericks. Familiar Wizards alumni like Butler, Stevenson and Haywood are all retired from the NBA. But with 9.8 seconds left, Mahinmi grabbed an offensive rebound from a missed Shawn Marion shot and then made a buzzer-beating midrange jumpshot to finish the period to silence the Miami crowd.įast forward eight years and Mahinmi is now playing for the Wizards after a four-year stint with the Indiana Pacers from 2012-16. He came in with 3:55 left to give franchise player Dirk Nowitzki a spell. Shoot, it happens to every post player who’s willing to defend the rim!īut in Game 6, Mahinmi played 11 minutes, including a key stretch to close the third quarter. His jobs was to make LeBron’s baskets tough. But he was a backup center behind Tyson Chandler, Haywood and Brian Cardinal. Mahinmi scored 9 points and committed 15 fouls in three NBA Finals games which is sure to make the “Mahinmi Haters” laugh. A man who is now part of this year’s Washington Wizards team. He played spot minutes in that Finals series and fouled more than he scored, though to be fair, backup centers are supposed to do that to make things tough for LeBron. Lessons Wizards Can Learn From Dallas Mavericks Winning 2011 NBA Finals Dallas Mavericks' 2011 NBA Finals Win Shows Rebuilding Takes TimeĪfter seeing Butler, Stevenson and/or Haywood lose to James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2006, 20 NBA Playoffs, this win was sweet.īut there was another man on that court. But it was nice seeing Stevenson unable to feel his face when he scored 9 points off the bench with his trademark three pointers. Haywood didn’t either because of a hip injury. Butler had season ending knee surgery from January and couldn’t play in Game 6. Caron Butler, DeShawn Stevenson and Brendan Haywood were traded there a year ago from Washington in light of Gilbert Arenas’ gun situation. Wizards fans felt poetic justice that day. They won that game 105-95 and the Larry O’Brien trophy along with it. Dallas headed into Miami with a 3-2 series lead and just had to win the game to upset the Miami Heat and their superstar trio of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh. Remember June 12, 2011? It was Game 6 of that year’s NBA Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat. Along the way, they won an NBA championship. Today, we will talk about one part of Ian Mahinmi ’s NBA career when he was with the Dallas Mavericks from 2010-12. You can buy specific tickets for the event here from the French American Chamber of Commerce. The Wizards will play the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night which is the team’s French Heritage Night.
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