Mavs finish off Heat, win NBA crown

MIAMI - For Dirk Nowitzki, the resume is complete. He's an NBA champion.

For LeBron James, the agonizing wait continues for at least one more year.

Avenging 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.

Jason Terry scored 27 points and Nowitzki added 21 and was named series MVP. Dallas overcame a two-games-to-one deficit by winning the final three games.

"Tonight," Terry said, "we got vindication."

James did not. Not even close, and a year unlike any other ended the way they all have so far - with him still waiting for an NBA title.

He scored 21 points for Miami, shook a few hands afterward, and departed before most of the Mavs tugged on their championship hats and T-shirts. Chris Bosh scored 19 points, Mario Chalmers 18, and Wade 17 for the Heat.

"This is a true team," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said during the jubilant trophy ceremony. "We don't run fast or jump high. These guys have each other's back. This is a phenomenal group."

Carlisle joined a highly elite group, those with NBA titles as both a player and a head coach. Only 10 other men are on that list, including the presumably retired-for-good Phil Jackson, one of Carlisle's mentors in K.C. Jones, and Heat president Pat Riley - who led Miami past Dallas in 2006, and was the mastermind of what the Heat did last summer by getting James, Wade, and Bosh on the same team with an eye on becoming a dynasty.

It might still happen, of course.

But even after 72 wins this season, including playoffs, the Heat lost the last game. And that means this year was a disappointment - except to just about everyone else in the NBA, or so it would seem.

Hating the Heat became the NBA's craze this season, and the team knew it had no shortage of critics, everyone from Cleveland (where "Cavs for Mavs" shirts were popular during these NBA Finals) to Chicago (the city James and Wade both flirted with last summer) and just about every place in between lining up to take shots at Miami.

Although Nowitzki had only three points at halftime, Dallas was up, 53-51. It was a testament to the teammates around him. They knew if they could keep it close, the big German would snap out of his funk. He did.

Nowitzki made his first shot of the second half and began to find a groove. He went 8 of 15 in the second half, scoring 18 points.

"I couldn't get in a rhythm today for some reason," Nowitzki said. "The team carried me all night long. [Terry] came out aggressive. I've got to give it up to the fellows. They were unbelievable tonight."

The Heat took its last lead of the game - and the season - just 64 seconds into the second half, lost it 16 seconds later, and chased the Mavericks the rest of the way.

They never caught them.

Jason Kidd, at 38 years old, got his first championship. Nowitzki got his at 32, Terry at 33.

Nowitzki said he has worked half his life for the dream of being NBA champion.

"If you win, it's great for you, and everybody looks at you. And if you lose, you're going to get hammered. It's just part of the business," he said before the finale. "I got hammered the last 13 years, basically."

Nowitzki sealed it with 2 minutes, 27 seconds left, hitting a jumper near the Miami bench to put Dallas up, 99-89, and some fans actually began leaving. Nowitzki walked to the Mavs' side slowly, right fist clenched and aloft.

He knew it. Everyone did. Coach Erik Spoelstra implored his team to foul in the final minute, and even then, the Heat could not catch the Mavericks.

"All those unique individual stories are what propelled us to this victory," Terry said.

Of the principal characters from the 2006 series, only owner Mark Cuban, Nowitzki, and Terry remain from the Mavericks' side.

NBA FINALS, GAME 6

Dallas wins series, 4-2.