MyDallasMavs: Finals- Mavs vs Heat: Game 2

The Mavericks entered Game 2 of the Finals after losing Game 1 on Tuesday night, which put them down 0-1 for the first time this postseason. The team, as well as the fans, were stunned to find out that Dirk tore a tendon in his left middle finger in the final minutes of Game 1 after battling with Bosh for the ball. With their leading scorer battling a slight injury and Miami 9-0 at home in the playoffs, Dallas knew that winning Game 2 in the AAA would be a hard task to complete but they hoped to be successful in evening up the series before heading back to Dallas for Game 3.

Some call it success, some call it luck, and some call it reDirkulous--but no matter what you call it, the Dallas Mavericks made an outstanding 15-point comeback-for the third time this postseason-in the final minutes of the game to take the lead along with the victory and even up the series 1-1 before going back home to the big D.

The Mavericks were off to a quick start as Kidd and Stevenson drained in a couple of 3-pointers to spark Dallas' offense and keep them close. Sharp-shooters, Lebron and Wade did the same for the Heat as Lebron slammed in a putback dunk to end the first. With a much higher scoring quarter than Game 1, the two teams were tied at 28 at the end of the first.

Nowitzki along with Marion and Barea would be the ones scoring early in the second quarter. Barea and Mike Miller got into a little tiff which led to a technical foul call on Miller. Rather than following the call with frustraton, the Heat used this for encouragement as Wade single-handedly led his team on the offensive end. Regardless of Miami's efforts, the Mavs hung tight and Stevenson swished in his third 3-pointer while the Mavs' defense tried to put stops on Wade followed by Lebron being forced to sit with 3 fouls. Despite the Dallas' quick transition defense, Wade began to take over again and light up the floor to spark a 9-0 run to come back and tie the game at 51 at the end of the second quarter.

In the first half, The Heat outshot the Mavs 52.6% to 48.6%. Wade had 21 points to lead all scorers. Dirk had 10 points, hitting just 3 for 10 from the floor. He seemed to be shooting his normal shot fine so we figure that his poor shooting percentage in the first half was just a coincidence and not due to his injured finger.

Dallas committed several turnovers which led the Heat to a 6-1 run in the early minutes of the third quarter. The Mavs tried to make a comeback but Bibby's on-key 3-point shooting was just too much for them as Carlisle expressed his frustration which led to a technical foul call. Although Dallas trailed by as much as 8 points, they continued to fight and stay close with the help of Dirk, Chandler, and Marion to come back to within four, 75-71, at the end of the third quarter.

Early in the fourth, Haywood left for the locker room after straining his right hip flexor, which led to Chandler coming back in the game from resting. Wade, once again, lit the floor on fire, leading his team to a double-digit advantage as Miami continued to score without trouble. Wade drained in a 3-pointer to give the Heat an 88-73 lead after a 13-0 run with less than 8 minutes to go. Dallas has been in this position before, and they knew they had to make a comeback with the plenty of time that remained on the clock; and that is exactly what they did. Terry led the Mavs on a 17-2 run as Dirk tied the game at 90 with a layup with just under a minute remaining. Dallas then forced Wade to miss a 3-pointer which led to a 3-pointer by Dirk to take the lead with 26 seconds to go. If this wasn't enough of a nail-biter for you yet, Chalmers then answered with a 3-point of his own to tie the game once again at 93 with 24.5 ticks on the clock. After a timeout, Kidd passed the ball to Dirk on the inbound where he drove the ball to the basket and laid it in with his injured left hand to take a 2-point lead with 3.6 seconds left for the Heat to score. With no timeouts left, the ball made its way into Wade's hands as he missed a quick 3-pointer off the rim to give the Mavs a Game 2 victory, 95-93, and Miami's first loss at home in the playoffs.

Dirk finished with 24 points and a game-high 11 rebounds while Marion was right behind him with 20 points. Terry added 16 points off the bench with 5 assists while Chandler had 13 points and 7 rebounds to make it four Mavs in double figures.

Wade finished with a game-high 36 points while Lebron had 20 points and 8 rebounds. Bibby had 14 points, including four 3-pointers while Bosh had 12 points after shooting just 4 for 16.

The Mavs wound up outshooting the heat, 48% to 46.6% and out-rebounded them 41-30. Dallas committed 20 turnovers which led to 31 Heat points, but they were able to overcome this with a 40-36 advantage in points in the paint and a 15-8 edge in second-chance points.

Dallas and their fans can thank Dirk for this inspirational performance as he not only scored the last 9 points for Dallas but also scored the game-winner, all with an injured left middle finger.

The Mavs will now travel back to Dallas for the next 3 games, looking to take a 2-1 series lead on Sunday.

**Game 3 will air on ABC on Sunday, June 5th at 8pm ET.