Posted on 06/12/2011 8:29:31 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
MIAMI— The end.
Of the hype. And the hope. Of instant gratification. And of vindication.
Year One of the Big Three ended with a thud Sunday night for the Miami Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena.
There will be no capping of last July's premature celebration over the free-agency signings of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Instead, there will be reflection on nights such as Sunday, when a 105-95 loss to the Dallas Mavericks in Game 6 of the NBA Finals brought down the curtain on the 2010-11 season.
And started a new waiting game, leaving plenty of questions in the wake of this meltdown.
It was a dreary ending, particularly for James, who again proved unable to match the moment. After making his first four shots when he appeared headed to a big night, he instead closed with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting, seemingly paralyzed by the moment. It was a finish nearly as humbling as being swept out of the 2007 Finals by the San Antonio Spurs while a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
None of the Heat's Big Three, in fact, were very big, with Wade closing with 17 points and Bosh with 19.
Mavericks guard Jason Terry, though, was plenty big, keeping Dallas afloat through a 14-0 Heat second-quarter run with 19 first-half points. He closed with 27 on 11-of-16 shooting.
That allowed Dallas to persevere even on a night series Most Valuable Player Dirk Nowitzki, hero of the Mavericks' Game 2 and Game 4 victories, shot 9 of 27 for 21 points.
It ended with Pat Riley watching in stunned silence from across the Heat bench, with the Heat allowing Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to celebrate in their building, with the Mavericks shockingly managing to buy nearly an entire section behind the Heat bench
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I'm personally happy for Jason Kidd. It was a 17 year wait which finally paid off.
He played near my neck of the woods and led the New Jersey Nets to 2 NBA finals, but never won.
This time he did. He can now retire in peace if he wishes.
“All Glory goes to God”...... Jason Terry
Go Mavs.
!!!!! M A V S !!!!!!!!
Go win the Olympics and tell me you’re “world champs.”
NBA’s best can’t even make the gold medal game.
Looks like LeBron James took another 4th Qtr. nap & the MAVS wiped the floor with him.
Congratulations to the MAVS, Mark Cuban & their fans!
I’m right there with you. Jason Kidd went to my high school. Although he has had some personal problems off the court, he has always played and acted like a professional. So glad he is going into the Hall of Fame someday with a ring....
RE: NBA’s best can’t even make the gold medal game.
C’mon, we won the Olympic basketball gold medal in 2008.
There’s always next season for the cHEATers....
I just saw Lebron not to long ago, I asked him for change for a dollar. He gave me 3 then said “Sorry kid..I don’t have a fourth quarter”
LOL...
Nice to see Dallas take it all.
I am not a huge Kidd fan but he certainly has been a great player from the time he started. Was it really 17 years ago?
Of course, I can expect the Dallas fans at DFW to be quite insufferable — but in that nice Dallas way.
And I will be one of them at this time next year...
As an OKC Freeper, I can only say, “Congratulations!.” But you can hear the Thunder rolling from a year away. ;-)
And, yeah, Jason Terry has things in the right perspective.
LOL LOL..but dont ya know, he took his talents to South Beach..yeah we know what talents..CHOKING talents
Congrats Mavs fans from Seattle.
(Bring back the SuperSonics!!!)
The Lebron Brand took a big, big hit this series. Why are companies paying this unlikeable choker millions to endorse their products?
Way to go Mavs! Thanks Dirk!!
Oh, that’s good! That’s really good!
Scratch Cuban, a despicable liberal. This win is for Dirk Nowitzki and the classy Mr. Don Carter, the man who made the Dallas Mavericks a reality.
Hysterical!
I think they should have little, mini trampolines in professional basketball.
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