The 2011 NBA Finals was the championship series of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

's (NBA) 2010–11 season. The Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks defeated the Eastern Conference champion

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

in six games to win their first NBA championship. The series was held from May 31 to June 12, 2011. Mavericks forward and German player

Dirk Nowitzki Dirk Werner Nowitzki (, ; born June 19, 1978) is a German former professional basketball player who is a special advisor for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at , he is widely regarded as one of the gre ...

was named the Finals MVP, becoming the second European to win the award after

Tony Parker William Anthony Parker Jr. (born 17 May 1982) is a French-American former professional basketball player and majority owner of ASVEL Basket in LNB Pro A. Himself the son of a basketball pro, Parker started his career at Paris Basket Racing in ...

( 2007) and the first German player to do so. The series was a rematch of the

2006 NBA Finals The 2006 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2005–06 NBA season and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Dallas Mavericks were favored to win the championship over the Miami Heat. Despite these odds, the Heat won the title in ...

, which the Heat had won in six games to win their first NBA championship. Going into the series, the Heat were heavy favorites with their newly acquired superstars

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is widely considered one of the greatest p ...

and

Chris Bosh Christopher Wesson Bosh (born March 24, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. A Texas Mr. Basketball in high school, he played one season of college basketball for Georgia Tech before declaring for the 2003 NBA draft. Bo ...

along with returning superstar Dwyane Wade. The Dallas Mavericks became the first team in NBA history since the implementation of the 2–3–2 format to enter Game 3 tied at one, lose Game 3 and still win the Finals. The previous 11 times this occurred, the Game 3 winner went on to win the series. The Mavericks ended the 1988 hiatus and placed seventh in a "come back win" of the Finals after being down two or more separate times (one game to none, and later two games to one). This was a rematch from five years earlier when both teams met in the

Background

Both the Mavericks and Heat made their second appearance in the NBA Finals, the first for both teams being the

. This Finals marked a rematch of those 2006 Finals, won by Miami in six games, after the Mavericks were up 2–0. It was also the first time since 2006 that neither the Los Angeles Lakers nor the San Antonio Spurs represented the Western Conference in the Finals and only the second time since , and also the thirteenth consecutive NBA Finals to feature a Western Conference champion from either the states of California or Texas. This was the first finals since 1998 not to feature Kobe Bryant (2000–2002, 2004, 2008–2010), Shaquille O'Neal (2000–2002, 2004, 2006) or

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "the Big Fundamental", he is widely regarded as the greatest power forward of all time and one of the greatest players in NBA histor ...

(1999, 2003, 2005, 2007). The Mavericks' appearance also meant that three of North America's four major professional sports championships were played in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in a span of eight months, with the 2010 World Series and

Super Bowl XLV Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

both occurring in nearby Arlington. The Heat had home-court advantage by virtue of a better regular-season record than the Mavericks. This was only the second time that the Eastern Conference had home-court advantage during the Finals since the end of the Michael Jordan era in 1998. It also marks the first time since 1995 that the Eastern Conference team lost in the Finals despite having home-court advantage. The 2011 series marked the first time a Finals match (Game 1) was played in the month of May since . Among the players from both teams, only

and

Jason Terry Jason Eugene Terry (born September 15, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player and current assistant coach for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 19 seasons in the NBA as a combo guard and is ...

of Dallas, and Dwyane Wade and

Udonis Haslem Udonis Johneal Haslem ( born June 9, 1980) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Florida Gators, where he was a key member of four N ...

of Miami, appeared in the 2006 series with the same team. Heat center

Erick Dampier Erick Travez Dampier (born July 14, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks. ...

played for the Mavericks in 2006. Aside from Dampier,

Caron Butler James Caron Butler (born March 13, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During a 14-year career he played for the Miami ...

Juwan Howard Juwan Antonio Howard (born February 7, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's team. A one-time All-Star and one-time All-NBA power forward, he began his NBA career ...

, and

Shawn Marion Shawn Dwayne Marion (born May 7, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Marion finished his career as a four-time NBA All-Star, a two-time member of the All- ...

are the only other players who have played for both the Mavericks and Heat.

Eddie House Edward Lee House II (born May 14, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. A guard known for his three-point shooting, House played for nine NBA teams in 11 seasons in the league. He was a member of the Boston Celtics team that ...

Žydrūnas Ilgauskas Zydrunas Ilgauskas ( lt, link=no, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas; ; born June 5, 1975) is a Lithuanian-born American former professional basketball player who played the center position. The 7'3" Ilgauskas played for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the Nationa ...

(James would reach the finals every year from 2011 to 2018, with both the Heat and the Cavaliers), and

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded as one of the greatest point guards a ...

have appeared in the Finals with different teams, with House (as a member of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

's 2008 championship team), Wade and Haslem winning a championship ring. Mavericks head coach

Rick Carlisle Richard Preston Carlisle ( ; born October 27, 1959) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has previously served as head coach of the Detroi ...

won a championship as a reserve for Boston's 1986 championship team making him only the eleventh person in NBA history to win a Finals as both a player and a coach.

Road to the Finals

Regular-season series

The Dallas Mavericks won both games in the regular season.

Series summary

Game summaries

:''All times are in

Eastern Daylight Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small p ...

( UTC−4).''

Game 1

Game 1 was the first NBA Finals game to be held in the month of May since

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

. The Heat made only 28.6 percent of their shots during the first quarter, and this low scoring percentage early on left the Mavs with an 8-point lead early into the 3rd quarter. The Heat changed course from this point on, outscoring the Mavs 22–10 and taking a 65–61 lead going into the 4th quarter. Mavs

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

injured his finger within the last four minutes of the game, but remained in play, wearing a splint to support the torn tendon. Despite having a below-average performance early in the game, Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade and

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger ...

collaborated on both defensive and offensive ends of the court in the fourth quarter, leading the Heat to win Game 1 over the Mavs 92–84.

Game 2

The Mavs' 15-point comeback was the biggest in an NBA Finals game since the 24-point comeback the Celtics made against the Lakers in Game 4 of the

2008 NBA Finals The 2008 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2007–08 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics def ...

. Dirk Nowitzki hit a 3 with 26.7 seconds left to give the Mavericks a 93–90 lead. However,

Mario Chalmers Almario Vernard "Mario" Chalmers (born May 19, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League. He was selected as the 34th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft by the Minnesota ...

tied it with a 3 of his own with 24.5 seconds left when

left him wide open. After

ran the clock down, Nowitzki then made a driving layup with his injured left hand with 3.6 seconds left. The Heat had no timeouts left, and Dwyane Wade's potential game-winning 3 hit the back rim at the buzzer as he fell to the ground in an attempt to draw a foul on Nowitzki. The Mavs' win broke the Heat's 9-game home winning streak in the playoffs, costing them a chance to tie the 1996 Bulls' mark of 10 straight. This was the second straight Finals with a 1–1 split after two games, after five straight years with one team leading 2–0 (2005–09).

Game 3

The Heat led most of the game, but the Mavericks fought back from a 14-point deficit. With 39.6 seconds left in the 4th, LeBron James found Chris Bosh for a 20-foot baseline jumper; Dirk Nowitzki had a chance to force OT, but missed a well-defended fadeaway jumper at the buzzer as the Heat handed Dallas another defeat to go up 2–1 in the series. It was Miami's sixth win in its last seven NBA Finals games, four by 3 points or less.

Game 4

Game 4 was a back-and-forth affair, with 12 lead changes and 15 ties. Miami went up 74–65 early in the fourth quarter on a baseline jumpshot by Udonis Haslem, tallying their largest lead of the game. After a timeout, Dallas answered with 4 straight points by Jason Terry, similar to the 6 straight he scored with Dallas down 15 halfway through the fourth quarter of Game 2. Dallas would take their first lead of the fourth quarter with 5:15 left on a fastbreak layup by Terry. They held the lead for the rest of the game, although Miami cut the lead to 1 twice in the final minute. Up 82–81 with 20 seconds left after Dwyane Wade missed 1 of 2 free throws, Dirk Nowitzki hit a driving layup with 14.4 seconds left to extend the lead to 3. After a dunk by Wade with 9 seconds left, 2 free throws by Terry pushed the lead back up to 3. With a chance to tie the game with a 3, Wade fumbled the inbounds pass with 6.7 seconds left, only to make a diving save to prevent a backcourt violation. The ball landed in Mike Miller's hands, whose desperation 3 airballed at the buzzer, preserving Dallas' 86–83 win. LeBron James scored just eight total points in Game 4 on 3-11 shooting including going 0-6 from the field when guarded by Jason Kidd or Jason Terry.

Game 5

After four low-scoring games, Game 5 saw the first time either team would break 100 points in this series. Dallas connected 13 times out of their 19 tries from three-point range.

, and J. J. Barea combined to make 10 of those 13 made threes. Late in the first quarter, Dwyane Wade ran into

Brian Cardinal Brian Lee Cardinal (born May 2, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 456 games in the NBA between 2000 and 2012, and won an NBA championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. Before his NBA career, he was one o ...

and had to go to the locker room with a hip injury; he eventually returned and hit a 3 to cap a 9–0 run that put Miami in front 99–95 with less than 5 minutes left in the game. Unhappy with Terry for missing a defensive assignment and setting a poor cross-screen, Mavs coach

pulled Terry from the game, telling him, "Refocus. I'm putting you right back in." After less than a minute, Carlisle subbed in Terry and made the crucial decision to run the offense through him for the rest of the game. This move ignited Dallas' offense, leading them on a game-winning 15–3 run in which Terry scored or assisted on 11 points. With Miami leading 100–97, Terry passed to

, who drew a double team and then kicked it back out to Terry for a game-tying 3. Nowitzki then drove baseline on

for a two-handed dunk (assisted by Terry) with 2:44 left in the game to give the Mavs a 102–100 lead they would not relinquish. After

was called for an offensive foul (Tyson Chandler drew the charge), Terry found Kidd for another wide-open 3 that gave the Mavs a 105–100 lead with 1:26 left. After Chandler blocked Wade with 1:04 left, Bosh made 1 of 2 free throws to cut the Mavs' lead to 105–101. On the Mavs' next possession, Terry knocked down a 28-foot three-pointer with James closely guarding him to give the Mavs an insurmountable 108–101 lead with 33.3 seconds left. The Mavericks won 112–103 and grabbed a 3–2 series lead going back to Miami.

Game 6

LeBron James made his first four shots to contribute to the Heat taking a 20–11 lead. The Mavericks went to a zone defense that perplexed Miami and Dallas went on a 21–4 run in a span of 5½ minutes. They made 9 of 12 shots during this stretch with

DeShawn Stevenson DeShawn Stevenson (born April 3, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. Stevenson played for six teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) during a 13-year career. He originally committed to play at the University of ...

making three-pointers in a 24-second duration to give Dallas a 40–28 lead with 9:42 left in the first half. Dallas turned Miami's first six turnovers into 14 points. The Heat then went on a 14–0 run to take a 42–40 lead. With 6:25 left in the half, Stevenson along with Udonis Haslem and Mario Chalmers received technical fouls after a scuffle occurred at midcourt during a timeout. In the second half, James did not score until making a layup with 1:49 remaining in the third. The Mavericks led by nine going into the 4th quarter after Ian Mahinmi hit a

buzzer beater In basketball and other such timed sports, a buzzer beater is a shot that is taken before the game clock of a quarter, a half (if the half is the second one, then, a game), or an overtime period expires but does not go in the basket until after t ...

to give Dallas an 81–72 lead. The Mavericks took a 12-point lead with 8:12 remaining. With 2:27 left, Nowitzki made a jump shot to help build the Mavericks' lead to 99–89. The Mavericks, who led for the final 22 minutes in the game, won their first championship in franchise history. Nowitzki was named Finals MVP. He had a poor shooting performance in the first half but managed to score 18 points in the second half. When the final buzzer sounded, an emotional Nowitzki went straight to the locker room in tears, although he re-emerged for the trophy presentation.

Rosters

Dallas Mavericks

Miami Heat

Player statistics

;Dallas Mavericks , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 3 , , 21.4 , , .382 , , .333 , , .714 , , 2.2 , , 3.2 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 8.8 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 0 , , 6.1 , , .667 , , .667 , , .500 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 1.4 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 37.3 , , .594 , , .000 , , .625 , , 8.8 , , 0.7 , , 1.2 , , 1.2 , , 9.7 , - , align="left" , , , 3 , , 0 , , 8.5 , , .333 , , .000 , , .500 , , 2.3 , , 0.0 , , 0.3 , , 1.0 , , 1.7 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 37.4 , , .389 , , .429 , , .750 , , 4.5 , , 6.3 , , 1.2 , , 0.8 , , 7.7 , - , align="left" , , , 3 , , 0 , , 9.0 , , .600 , , .000 , , .600 , , 1.7 , , 0.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 3.0 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 35.8 , , .479 , , .000 , , .824 , , 6.3 , , 2.3 , , 0.8 , , 0.7 , , 13.7 , -! style="background:#FDE910;" , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 40.4 , , .416 , , .368 , , .978 , , 9.7 , , 2.0 , , 0.7 , , 0.7 , , 26.0 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 3 , , 17.2 , , .542 , , .565 , , .750 , , 1.5 , , 0.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 7.0 , - , align="left" , , , 4 , , 0 , , 6.4 , , .200 , , .000 , , .000 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 0 , , 32.6 , , .494 , , .393 , , .750 , , 2.0 , , 3.2 , , 1.3 , , 0.0 , , 18.0 ;Miami Heat , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 20.6 , , .286 , , .000 , , .000 , , 3.5 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 1.2 , , 1.3 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 5 , , 17.4 , , .350 , , .294 , , .000 , , 1.4 , , 1.0 , , 1.4 , , 0.2 , , 3.8 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 39.4 , , .413 , , .000 , , .778 , , 7.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 0.5 , , 18.5 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 1 , , 28.9 , , .426 , , .400 , , .739 , , 2.7 , , 3.5 , , 1.7 , , 0.0 , , 11.8 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 0 , , 29.4 , , .450 , , .000 , , .800 , , 5.2 , , 0.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.5 , , 6.7 , - , align="left" , , , 2 , , 0 , , 12.3 , , .333 , , .375 , , .000 , , 2.0 , , 0.5 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 4.5 , - , align="left" , , , 5 , , 0 , , 5.9 , , .600 , , .000 , , .500 , , 1.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.8 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 43.6 , , .478 , , .321 , , .600 , , 7.2 , , 6.8 , , 1.7 , , 0.5 , , 17.8 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 0 , , 15.6 , , .304 , , .389 , , .000 , , 2.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 3.5 , - , align="left" , , , 6 , , 6 , , 39.0 , , .546 , , .304 , , .694 , , 7.0 , , 5.2 , , 1.5 , , 1.5 , , 26.5

Broadcast notes

The Finals were originally projected to begin on Thursday, June 9, but (along with the entire NBA schedule) were pushed up ahead one week to Thursday, June 2 due to negotiations on an impending league-wide lockout at the end of the season. They were again pushed ahead to a start date of May 31 as both conference finals series ended in five games. The Finals were televised in the United States through

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, with

Mike Breen Michael Breen (born May 22, 1961) is an American play-by-play sports commentator for '' NBA on ABC'' and is the lead announcer for New York Knicks games on the MSG Network. Breen also calls NBA games for ESPN and was formerly a play-by-play anno ...

Jeff Van Gundy Jeffrey William Van Gundy (born January 19, 1962) is an American commentator for ESPN and former basketball coach. He served as head coach of the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). During his t ...

, and Mark Jackson as announcers.

Doris Burke Doris Burke ( Sable) is an American sports announcer and analyst for NBA on ESPN, NBA on ABC, College Basketball on ESPN, and College Basketball on ABC games. She formerly worked as an analyst for WNBA games on MSG, and has worked on New Yor ...

was the sideline reporter, while

Stuart Scott Stuart Orlando Scott (July 19, 1965 – January 4, 2015) was an American sportscaster and anchor on ESPN, most notably on ''SportsCenter''. Well known for his hip-hop style and use of catchphrases, Scott was also a regular for the network i ...

hosted the championship presentation. Scott also hosted the pre-game and halftime shows along with

Jon Barry Jon Alan Barry (born July 25, 1969) is an American former basketball player and current television analyst for ABC and ESPN. Biography Barry is the son of Hall of Famer Rick Barry and Pam Connolly, and has three brothers: Scooter, Brent, a ...

Michael Wilbon Michael Wilbon (; born ) is an American commentator for ESPN and former sportswriter and columnist for ''The Washington Post''. He is an analyst for ESPN and has co-hosted ''Pardon the Interruption'' on ESPN since 2001. Early life and education ...

, and Magic Johnson. ESPN Radio aired the Finals nationally on radio, with Mike Tirico,

Hubie Brown Hubert Jude Brown (born September 25, 1933) is an American retired basketball coach and player and a current television analyst. Brown is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, the honors being separated by 26 years. Brown was inducted into the Naism ...

, and Jack Ramsay announcing.

References

External links

Official website
of the 2011 NBA Finals
2011 NBA Finals
at

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

2011 NBA Finals
at Basketball-Reference.com {{NBA on ESPN Radio National Basketball Association Finals

Finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

NBA NBA N N 2010s in Dallas N May 2011 sports events in the United States June 2011 sports events in the United States Sports competitions in Dallas Sports competitions in Miami ABS-CBN television specials