Game 2 - What Just Happened?

Game 2 seemed like it was turning into somewhat of a repeat of Game 1. Early on, Miami was crashing the boards harder than were the Mavericks. In Game 1, Miami had out-rebounded Dallas by 20. Mike Bibby caught fire from three-point land, while Dallas struggled shooting. Dwyane Wade, who had a great second half in the Finals opener, kept on rolling, as did LeBron James.

Towards the end of the first quarter, LeBron caught a missed shot with one hand and threw it down while gliding in the air all the while.

But Dallas was resilient. They mustered a 51-42 lead late in the first half, despite Dirk's shooting troubles. Dirk had injured his left hand towards the end of Game 1. The Mavs wouldn't score again in the half though. Led by Wade, the Heat stormed back to tie the game by the intermission.

Miami's lead fluctuated in third quarter. Dallas continued to go through their spells of confounding confusion. Bad passes, poor shots, missed assignments on defense frequently derailed the Dallas attack. Yet, by the end of the third, Dallas only trailed by 4.

Miami spurt out to a 15 point lead with just over 6 minutes remaining in the game. The game and the series appeared to be over. LeBron, who had 20 points and 4 steals, looked unstoppable. Wade, who would finish with 36 points, was playing at a legendary level. Bosh had his second straight poor shooting night, but was part of the Heat's lock-down defense. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle appeared frustrated. Miami had just scored 13 straight to take an 88-73 lead.

But the Mavs had been there before. They made a stunning comeback against the Lakers in Game 1. They shocked the NBA world with a miraculous comeback against the Thunder in Game 4 of their series. But this time, their opponent was the Heat.

Tyson Chandler and Shawn Marion became more active on the boards; Dallas ultimately finish with more than Miami. Jason Terry began to hit shots. Meanwhile, Miami suddenly struggled. LeBron missed his last 4 shots of the game. Wade couldn't stop the tide. Suddenly, the Heat's lack of depth seemed to hurt them. And Dirk took over.

Up 90-88, the Heat had the ball. As the shot clock ran out, LeBron fired a three that missed the mark. With 1:30 remaining, Miami got the carom and Dallas had to play defense again. LeBron missed another three 24 seconds later, but Miami got the ball once again. A Terry steal of a Udonis Halsem pass ended the marathon possession. With just under a minute to go, Dirk scored a lay-up to tie the game.

Wade missed a three and Dirk nailed one of his own to take a 93-90 lead, capping a 20-2 run by the Mavs. Yet, the game was not over. With 24 seconds, Mario Chalmers was left wide open in the corner by Terry and, just had he did in 2008 NCAA championship for Kansas, hit a huge three. But the Mavs would not be denied. With time running out, Dirk got the ball, he drove to the basket and let the ball fly off of his injured left hand and into the basket.

Miami hadn't used their foul-to-give and were out of timeouts. Wade took a hail mary shot that would have wont he game, but bounced off the back rim. Dallas won 96-93 in what was a memorable finish to a fairly shabby first three quarters. Dirk finished with 24 points and the Mavericks' last 9. The series is tied.