Dallas Mavericks defeat Miami Heat; Dirk Nowitzki gets Finals MVP award

His eighth season ended like the previous seven — without a title. For the second time, he lost in the finals, this defeat added to the four-game sweep San Antonio put on his Cleveland team in 2007. And a season that began with Miami celebrating the signings of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh ended before many of the same fans and on the very same floor, the promise of championships not yet fulfilled.

“Any time you feel like you get to the top of the mountain and you fall off, there’s definitely a personal failure,” James said.

For Dirk Nowitzki the joy of winning his first NBA title was also vindication for the Maverick’s 2006 Finals loss to the Miami Heat. That Heat team closed out their win on Dallas’s home court in Game 6 just as the Mavericks did on Sunday night. As Michael Lee explained:

He chased down Dwyane Wade in the corner, hoping possibly to get a steal, but watched Wade joyously toss the ball toward the rafters as Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning and the rest of the Miami Heat players bumped into him and rushed the court to hop around and hug one another.