2011 NBA Finals

2011 NBA Finals

Team Coach Wins Dallas Mavericks Rick Carlisle 4 Miami Heat Erik Spoelstra 2
Dates:	May 31 – June 12
MVP:	Dirk Nowitzki[1] (Dallas Mavericks)
Television:	ABC TSN
Announcers:	Mike Breen, Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy
Radio network:	ESPN
Announcers:	Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown, and Jack Ramsay
Referees:
Game 1: Steve Javie, Mike Callahan, Bill Kennedy
Game 2: Joe Crawford, Ed Malloy, Ken Mauer
Game 3: Dan Crawford, Scott Foster, Derrick Stafford
Game 4: Monty McCutchen, Marc Davis, Greg Willard
Game 5: Joe Crawford, Mike Callahan, Bill Kennedy
Game 6: Steve Javie, Scott Foster, Derrick Stafford
Eastern Finals:	Heat defeated Bulls, 4–1
Western Finals:	Mavericks defeated Thunder, 4–1
< 2010 NBA Finals

The 2011 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2010–11 season of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks defeated the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat, 4–2, to win their first NBA title. Dallas became the latest NBA team from Texas to win its first title, after the Houston Rockets won back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995, and the San Antonio Spurs won in 1999, 2003, 2005, and 2007; all three Texas NBA teams have now won at least one NBA Championship.

The series was held from May 31 to June 12, 2011. Under the 2–3–2 rotation, the Miami Heat had home-court advantage; the Heat hosted Games 1, 2, and 6, and was set to host a deciding Game 7, had one been necessary. German player Dirk Nowitzki was named the Finals MVP. Nowitzki was the second European to win the award after Tony Parker (2007); he is the first German to win the award.^[2]

Going into the series, the Heat were heavy favorites^[3][4] with their newly acquired stars LeBron James and Chris Bosh along with returning star Dwyane Wade. The series was a rematch of the 2006 Finals, which was won by the Heat in 6 games after Dallas blew a 2–0 series lead.^[2]

The Dallas Mavericks became the first team in NBA history since the institution of the 2–3–2 format to enter Game 3 tied 1–1, lose Game 3 and still win the Finals. The previous 11 times this has occurred, the Game 3 winner went on to win the series.^[5]

The Dallas Mavericks also became just the 7th team, and the first since 1988, to come back and win the Finals after being down in the series two or more separate times (one game to none, and later two games to one). The previous 6 times this happened, the Finals ended in 7 games; Dallas became the first team in NBA history to do it in 6 games.

Background

See also: 2010–11 Dallas Mavericks season and 2010–11 Miami Heat season

Both the Mavericks and Heat made their second appearance in the NBA Finals, the first for both teams being the 2006 NBA Finals. This Finals marked a rematch of the 2006 Finals, won by Miami in six games, after the Mavericks were up 2–0.^[6]

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 1998, and also the thirteenth consecutive NBA Finals to feature a Western Conference Champion from either the states of California or Texas.

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 8 months, with the 2010 World Series and Super Bowl XLV both occurring in nearby Arlington.^[7]

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.^{[citation needed]}

The 2011 series marked the first time a Finals match (Game 1) was played in the month of May since 1986.

Among the players from both teams, only Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry of Dallas, and Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem of Miami, appeared in the 2006 series with the same team. Heat center Erick Dampier played for the Mavericks in 2006. Aside from Dampier, Caron Butler, Juwan Howard and Shawn Marion are the only other players who have played for both the Mavericks and Heat. Eddie House, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas, LeBron James and Jason Kidd have appeared in the Finals with different teams, with House (as a member of Boston's 2008 championship team), Wade and Haslem winning a championship ring. Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle 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

Main article: 2011 NBA Playoffs

Dallas Mavericks (Western Conference Champion)		Miami Heat (Eastern Conference Champion)
Southwest Division v · d · e W L PCT GB Home Road Div c-San Antonio Spurs 61 21 .744 – 36–5 25–16 10–6 x-Dallas Mavericks 57 25 .695 4 29–12 28–13 8–8 x-New Orleans Hornets 46 36 .561 15 28–13 18–23 9–7 x-Memphis Grizzlies 46 36 .561 15 30–11 16–25 8–8 Houston Rockets 43 39 .524 18 25–16 18–23 5–11 3rd seed in the West, 5th best league record	Regular season		Southeast Division v · d · e W L PCT GB Home Road Div y-Miami Heat 58 24 .707 – 30–11 28–13 13–3 x-Orlando Magic 52 30 .634 6 29–12 23–18 11–5 x-Atlanta Hawks 44 38 .537 14 24–17 20–21 9–7 Charlotte Bobcats 34 48 .415 24 21–20 13–28 4–12 Washington Wizards 23 59 .280 35 20–21 3–38 3–13 2nd seed in the East, 3rd best league record
Defeated the (6) Portland Trail Blazers, 4–2	First Round		Defeated the (7) Philadelphia 76ers, 4–1
Defeated the (2) Los Angeles Lakers, 4–0	Conference Semifinals		Defeated the (3) Boston Celtics, 4–1
Defeated the (4) Oklahoma City Thunder, 4–1	Conference Finals		Defeated the (1) Chicago Bulls, 4–1

Regular-season series

November 27, 2010

Recap

Miami Heat 95, Dallas Mavericks 106

American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas

December 20, 2010

Recap

Dallas Mavericks 98, Miami Heat 96

American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida

Series summary

Game	Date	Home team	Result	Road team
Game 1	Tuesday, May 31	Miami Heat	92–84 (1–0)	Dallas Mavericks
Game 2	Thursday, June 2	Miami Heat	93–95 (1–1)	Dallas Mavericks
Game 3	Sunday, June 5	Dallas Mavericks	86–88 (1–2)	Miami Heat
Game 4	Tuesday, June 7	Dallas Mavericks	86–83 (2–2)	Miami Heat
Game 5	Thursday, June 9	Dallas Mavericks	112–103 (3–2)	Miami Heat
Game 6	Sunday, June 12	Miami Heat	95–105 (2–4)	Dallas Mavericks

All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4).

Game 1

May 31 9:00 pm	Recap	Dallas Mavericks 84, Miami Heat 92				American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida Attendance: 20,003 Referees: Steve Javie, Mike Callahan, Bill Kennedy	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 17–16, 27–27, 17–22, 23–27
		Pts: Dirk Nowitzki 27 Rebs: Shawn Marion 10 Asts: Jason Kidd 6		Pts: LeBron James 24 Rebs: Dwyane Wade 10 Asts: Dwyane Wade 6
		Miami leads series 1–0

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 Dirk Nowitzki injured his finger within the last four minutes of the game, but remained in play, wearing a splint to support the torn tendon.^[8] Despite having a below-average performance early in the game, Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade and small forward LeBron James 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.^[9]

Game 2

June 2 9:00 pm	Recap	Dallas Mavericks 95, Miami Heat 93				American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida Attendance: 20,003 Referees: Joe Crawford, Ed Malloy, Ken Mauer	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 28–28, 23–23, 20–24, 24–18
		Pts: Dirk Nowitzki 24 Rebs: Dirk Nowitzki 11 Asts: Terry, Kidd 5 each		Pts: Dwyane Wade 36 Rebs: James, Bosh 8 each Asts: Dwyane Wade 6
		Series tied 1–1

The Mavs' 15-point comeback was the biggest in an NBA Finals game since the 15-point comeback the Bulls made against the Blazers in Game 6 of the 1992 NBA Finals.^[10] Dirk Nowitzki hit a 3 with 26.7 seconds left to give the Mavericks a 93–90 lead. However, Mario Chalmers tied it with another 3 with 24.5 seconds left when Jason Terry left him wide open. Nowitzki then made a driving layup with his injured left hand with 3.6 seconds left. The Heat had no timeouts left, and Dwayne Wade's potential game-winning 3 hit the back rim at the buzzer.^[11] 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 is the second straight Finals with a 1–1 split after two games, after five straight years with one team leading 2–0 (2005–2009).

Game 3

June 5 8:00 pm	Recap	Miami Heat 88, Dallas Mavericks 86				American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas Attendance: 20,340 Referees: Dan Crawford, Scott Foster, Derrick Stafford	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 29–22, 18–20, 20–22, 21–22
		Pts: Dwyane Wade 29 Rebs: Dwyane Wade 11 Asts: LeBron James 9		Pts: Dirk Nowitzki 34 Rebs: Chandler, Nowitzki 11 each Asts: Jason Kidd 10
		Miami leads series 2–1

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.^[12] It was Miami's 6th win in its last 7 NBA Finals games, 4 by 3 points or less.

Game 4

June 7 9:00 pm	Recap	Miami Heat 83, Dallas Mavericks 86				American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas Attendance: 20,430 Referees: Monty Mccutchen, Marc Davis, Greg Willard	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 21–21, 26–24, 22–20, 14–21
		Pts: Dwyane Wade 32 Rebs: LeBron James 9 Asts: LeBron James 7		Pts: Dirk Nowitzki 21 Rebs: Tyson Chandler 16 Asts: José Juan Barea 4
		Series tied 2–2

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 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's 86–83 win.^[13]

Game 5

June 9 9:00 pm	Recap	Miami Heat 103, Dallas Mavericks 112				American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas Attendance: 20,433 Referees: Joe Crawford, Mike Callahan, Bill Kennedy	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 31–30, 26–30, 22–24, 24–28
		Pts: Dwyane Wade 23 Rebs: James, Bosh 10 each Asts: LeBron James 10		Pts: Dirk Nowitzki 29 Rebs: Tyson Chandler 7 Asts: Kidd, Terry 6 each
		Dallas leads series 3–2

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. Jason Terry, Jason Kidd, and J.J. Barea combined to make 10 of those 13 made threes. Late in the first quarter, Dwyane Wade ran into Brian Cardinal 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 Rick Carlisle pulled Terry from the game, telling him, "Refocus. I'm putting you right back in."^[14] 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 Dirk Nowitzki, who drew a double team and then kicked it back out to Terry for a game-tying 3. Nowitzki then drove baseline on Chris Bosh 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 LeBron James 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 Dwyane Wade with 1:04 left, Chris 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 3 with LeBron 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.^[15]

Game 6

June 12 8:00 pm	Recap	Dallas Mavericks 105, Miami Heat 95				American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida Attendance: 20,003 Referees: Steve Javie, Scott Foster, Derrick Stafford	ABC
		Scoring by quarter: 32–27, 21–24, 28–21, 24–23
		Pts: Jason Terry 27 Rebs: Dirk Nowitzki 11 Asts: Jason Kidd 8		Pts: LeBron James 21 Rebs: Udonis Haslem 9 Asts: Mario Chalmers 7
		Dallas wins series 4–2

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 5 ½ minutes. They made 9 of 12 shots during this stretch with DeShawn Stevenson made two 3's 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 9 going into the 4th quarter after Ian Mahinmi hit a buzzer beater to give Dallas a 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' insurmountable lead to 99–89. The Mavericks, who led for the final 22 minutes in the game, won their first championship in franchise history.^[16] Nowitzki was named Finals MVP.^[17][18] He had a poor shooting performance in the first half but managed to score 18 points in the second half.^[19][2] When the final buzzer sounded, an obviously emotional Nowtizki ran straight into the locker room to shed off the tears after 13 years of trying.

Awards

• 2011 NBA Champion: Dallas Mavericks
• Finals MVP: Dirk Nowitzki

Statistical leaders

Category	High			Average
	Player	Team	Total	Player	Team	Avg.	Games played
Points	Dwyane Wade	Miami Heat	36	Dwyane Wade	Miami Heat	26.5	6
Rebounds	Tyson Chandler	Dallas Mavericks	16	Dirk Nowitzki	Dallas Mavericks	9.7	6
Assists	Jason Kidd LeBron James	Dallas Mavericks Miami Heat	10	LeBron James	Miami Heat	6.8	6
Steals	Mike Bibby LeBron James	Miami Heat Miami Heat	4	LeBron James	Miami Heat	1.67	6
Blocks	Joel Anthony Brendan Haywood Tyson Chandler Dirk Nowitzki	Miami Heat Dallas Mavericks Dallas Mavericks Dallas Mavericks	3	Dwyane Wade	Miami Heat	1.5	6

Rosters

2011 Dallas Mavericks Finals roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB (Y–M–D) From 1.5 !G 11 PRI ! Barea, Jose Juan 72 !6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1984–06–26 Northeastern 1.5 !G 3 FRA ! Beaubois, Rodrigue (IN) 74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1988–02–24 France 4.0 !F 13 USA ! Brewer, Corey 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 1986–03–05 Florida 4.0 !F 4 USA ! Butler, Caron (IN) 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 228 lb (103 kg) 1980–03–13 Connecticut 4.0 !F 35 USA ! Cardinal, Brian 80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1977–05–02 Purdue 6.0 !C 6 USA ! Chandler, Tyson 85 !7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1982–10–02 Dominguez HS (California)* 6.0 !C 33 USA ! Haywood, Brendan 84 !7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 263 lb (119 kg) 1979–11–27 North Carolina 1.5 !G 20 USA ! Jones, Dominique (IN) 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1988–10–15 South Florida 1.5 !G 2 USA ! Kidd, Jason (C) 76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1973–03–23 California 6.0 !C 28 FRA ! Mahinmi, Ian 83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1986–11–05 France 4.0 !F 0 USA ! Marion, Shawn 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 228 lb (103 kg) 1978–05–07 UNLV 4.0 !F 41 GER ! Nowitzki, Dirk (C) 84 !7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1978–06–19 Germany 1.5 !G 92 USA ! Stevenson, DeShawn 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1981–04–03 Washington Union HS (California)* 4.0 !F 16 SRB ! Stojaković, Peja 82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 229 lb (104 kg) 1977–06–09 Serbia 1.5 !G 31 USA ! Terry, Jason 74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1977–09–15 Arizona	Head coach Rick Carlisle (Virginia) Assistant coach(es) Terry Stotts (Oklahoma) Dwane Casey (Kentucky) Darrell Armstrong (Fayetteville State) Monte Mathis (Toledo) Robert Hackett (Wisconsin) Athletic trainer(s) Casey Smith (Arizona State) Strength and conditioning coach(es) Robert Hackett (Wisconsin) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended Injured

2011 Miami Heat Finals roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB (Y–M–D) From 6.0 !C 50 CAN ! Anthony, Joel 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1982–08–09 UNLV 1.5 !G 0 USA ! Bibby, Mike 74 !6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1978–05–13 Arizona 4.0 !F 1 USA ! Bosh, Chris 83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1984–03–24 Georgia Tech 1.5 !G 15 USA ! Chalmers, Mario 73 !6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1986–05–19 Kansas 6.0 !C 25 USA ! Dampier, Erick (IN) 83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1975–07–14 Mississippi State 4.0 !F 40 USA ! Haslem, Udonis (C) 80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1980–06–09 Florida 1.5 !G 55 USA ! House, Eddie 73 !6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 1978–05–14 Arizona State 4.0 !F 5 USA ! Howard, Juwan 81 !6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 253 lb (115 kg) 1973–02–07 Michigan 6.0 !C 11 Lithuania ! Ilgauskas, Žydrūnas 87 !7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1975–06–05 Lithuania 4.0 !F 6 USA ! James, LeBron 80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1984–12–30 St. Vincent – St. Mary High School* 4.0 !F 22 USA ! Jones, James 80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1980–10–04 Miami (Fla.) 6.0 !C 21 CAN ! Magloire, Jamaal (IN) 83 !6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1978–05–21 Kentucky 4.0 !F 13 USA ! Miller, Mike 80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1980–02–19 Florida 6.0 !C 45 USA ! Pittman, Dexter (IN) 82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 290 lb (132 kg) 1988–03–02 Texas 1.5 !G 3 USA ! Wade, Dwyane (C) 76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1982–01–17 Marquette	Head coach Erik Spoelstra (Portland) Assistant coach(es) Bob McAdoo (North Carolina) Keith Askins (Alabama) Ron Rothstein (Rhode Island) David Fizdale (San Diego) Chad Kammerer (Westmont) Octavio De La Grana (Liberty) Athletic trainer(s) Jay Sabol (Florida International) Strength and conditioning coach(es) Bill Foran (Central Michigan) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended Injured

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.^[20] They were again pushed ahead to a start date of May 31 as both conference finals series ended in five games.

This series marked the first time since 2002 (or last game of the NBC's Coverage on NBA) that the NBA Finals ended before the NHL's Stanley Cup Finals.

Game	Ratings (households)	Share (households)	American audience (in millions)
1[21]	9.0	15	15.171
2[21]	9.3	16	15.522
3[21]	9.1	15	15.338
4[22]	9.6	16	16.126
5[22]	10.8	19	18.318
6[22]	13.3	22	23.880

The Finals were televised in the United States through ABC, with Mike Breen, Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy as announcers. Doris Burke was the sideline reporter, while Stuart Scott hosted the championship presentation. Scott also hosted the pre-game and half-time shows along with Jon Barry, Michael Wilbon and Magic Johnson. ESPN Radio aired the Finals nationally on radio, with Mike Tirico, Hubie Brown and Jack Ramsay announcing.

References

1. ^ "Gutty performance earns Nowitzki Finals MVP honors". National Basketball Association. 12 June 2011. http://www.nba.com/2011/news/06/12/nowitzki-finals-mvp.ap/index.html. Retrieved 13 June 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Lee, Michael (June 12, 2011). "NBA Finals: Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks complete stunning run to the championship". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/nba-finals-dirk-nowitzki-and-the-dallas-mavericks-complete-stunning-run-to-the-championship/2011/06/12/AGrwtPSH_story.html. Retrieved June 13, 2011. 
3. ^ Tom Ziller (31 May 2011). "NBA Finals 2011 Odds: Heat Heavy Favorites Over Mavericks". SB Nation. http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/5/31/2198658/nba-finals-2011-odds-miami-heat-dallas-mavericks. Retrieved 13 June 2011. 
4. ^ Sharper, Drew (27 May 2011). "2011 NBA Finals Odds To Win: Heat Favored Over Mavericks". TheSpread.com. http://www.thespread.com/nba-articles/052711-2011-nba-finals-odds-to-win-heat-favored-over-mavericks. Retrieved 13 June 2011. 
5. ^ Smith, Sekou (June 5, 2011). "Game 3? The Heat Is on!". NBA.com. http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2011/06/05/game-3-the-heat-is-on/. Retrieved June 13, 2011. 
6. ^ Falgoust, J. Michael; Kaplan, Jake; Zillgitt, Jeff (May 31, 2011). "2011 NBA Finals a rematch of 2006 won by the Miami Heat". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2011-05-29-heatwin_N.htm. Retrieved June 13, 2011. 
7. ^ MacMahon, Tim (June 3, 2011). "Welcome to center of sports world". ESPN Dallas. http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nba/columns/story?columnist=macmahon_tim&id=6623664. Retrieved June 13, 2011. 
8. ^ MacMahon, Tim (2 June 2011). "Dirk Nowitzki: Finger 'not that sore'". ESPN Dallas. http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nba/news/story?id=6615940. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
9. ^ Thomsen, Ian (1 June 2011). "Opportunistic Heat take Game 1 as Mavericks struggle to find rhythm". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/ian_thomsen/05/31/finals.game1/index.html?eref=sihp&sct=hp_t11_a1. Retrieved 7 June 2011. 
10. ^ MacMahon, Tim (June 3, 2011). "Mavericks' duo pull off the incredible". ESPNDallas.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nba/columns/story?columnist=macmahon_tim&id=6621293. Retrieved June 5, 2011. 
11. ^ "Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks rally in fourth quarter to even Finals at 1–1". Associated Press. ESPN. June 6, 2011. http://espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=310602014. Retrieved June 13, 2011. 
12. ^ "Dirk Nowitzki's late charge comes one shot short as Heat take 2–1 Finals lead". ESPN.com wires. ESPN. June 5, 2011. http://espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=310605006. Retrieved June 13, 2011. 
13. ^ "Dirk Nowitzki fights off fever to rally Mavs past Heat, even Finals at 2". Associated Press. ESPN. June 7, 2011. http://espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=310607006. Retrieved June 13, 2011. 
14. ^ Caplan, Jeff. "Jason Terry backs up his big talk". ESPNDallas.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/columns/story?columnist=caplan_jeff&id=6647319. 
15. ^ "Dallas pulls away in 4th quarter, takes 3–2 lead in Finals". Associated Press. ESPN. June 9, 2011. http://espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=310609006. Retrieved June 13, 2011. 
16. ^ Zillgitt, Jeff (13 June 2011). "Mavericks finish off Heat 4–2 as Dallas wins its first NBA title". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/2011-06-12-mavericks-heat-game-6_N.htm?csp=ipmps. Retrieved 13 June 2011. 
17. ^ Associated Press (2011-06-13). "Dallas Mavericks take their talents to South Beach, leave with NBA championship, 105–95, over Miami". The Plain Dealer. http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2011/06/heat-mavericks_game_6.html. Retrieved 2011-06-13. 
18. ^ Beck, Howard (2011-06-12). "Mavericks Defeat Heat for First Title". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/13/sports/basketball/nba-finals-mavericks-defeats-heat-for-first-championship.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2011-06-13. 
19. ^ MacMahon, Tim (June 12, 2011). "Rapid Reaction: Mavericks win NBA title". ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/mavericks/post/_/id/4679806/page/rapidreaction/rapid-react-mavs-105-heat-95. Retrieved 13 June 2011. 
20. ^ Karpuk, Brian (3 June 2009). "Will There Be An NBA Lockout in 2011?". Newsburglar. http://newsburglar.com/2009/06/03/nba-lockout-2011/. Retrieved 11 August 2010. 
21. ^ ^{a b c} Gorman, Bill (2011-06-07). "TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25: NBA Finals & Reality Top Summer's First Full Week". TVbytheNumbers.com. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/06/07/tv-ratings-broadcast-top-25-nba-finals-reality-top-summers-first-full-week/94861/. Retrieved 2011-06-12. 
22. ^ ^{a b c} Gorman, Bill (2011-06-14). "TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25: NBA Finals & Reality Dominate Primetime Week". TVbytheNumbers.com. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/06/14/tv-ratings-broadcast-top-25-nba-finals-reality-dominate-primetime-week/95496/. Retrieved 2011-06-14. 

External links

• Official website of the 2011 NBA Finals
• 2011 NBA Finals at ESPN
• 2011 NBA Finals at Basketball-Reference.com