The Finals Run Of The 2006 Dallas Mavericks

The 2006 Dallas Mavericks were a team on the ascent. After drafting Dirk Nowitzki in 1999, the Mavericks had made the playoffs for five straight years. Head coach Don Nelson stepped down and handed the reins over to Avery Johnson. Dallas reached what was then their greatest heights, reaching the NBA Finals.

Dirk had a monster season, going for a per-game average of 27 points/8 rebounds/9 assists. The versatile big man finished third in the MVP voting. Jason Terry and Josh Howard combined to average 33ppg. But fundamentally, this was a team that revolved around Nowitzki.

Dallas won nine of their first eleven games, including the Detroit Pistons, who were bound for the league’s best regular season record. The Mavs knocked off the Miami Heat, a team they would see more of. By the end of January, Dallas was soaring at 35-10 and tied with the defending champion San Antonio Spurs for the best record in the NBA.

The Mavericks would be in a close race with the Spurs and Pistons throughout the year for the league’s top record. On March 17, Dallas was 52-14, a game up on San Antonio in the West, and two behind Detroit. But the Mavs lost five of seven. They still had a shot at homecourt advantage down the stretch, but dropped three of their final four games.

Dallas’ final record was still a sparkling 60-22. The way the NBA seeded the playoffs in 2006 worked against them—division winners got the top three seeds, and the Mavericks had finished behind the Spurs in the Southwest Division. So, Dallas was seeded #4 and drew a 49-win Memphis Grizzlies team for the first round of the playoffs. Memphis was offensively challenged, but the Grizzlies played the best defense in the league and their had own great big man from a foreign land, in Pau Gasol.

In Game 1, Memphis would outshoot Dallas from the floor, 53 percent to 46 percent. But the Mavs were crashing the boards, winning that battle 53-46. They were getting to the free throw line, outscoring the Grizzlies from the stripe, 30-21. That was fundamentally the difference in a 103-93 win. Dallas stepped it up defensively in Game 2, forcing 20 turnovers. For the seconds straight game, Dirk knocked down 31 points. The Mavs won 94-79 to hold serve on their home floor.

A tough defensive battle went down in Game 3, with both teams shooting in the low 40s. Dallas had more success cleaning up the misses, with a 50-42 rebounding advantage. Dirk scored 36 points and Terry hit for 22. The game went to overtime, but Dallas pulled it out, 94-89. They had effectively broken the Grizzlies, and cruised through Game 4. Dirk and Howard combined for 51 points/16 rebounds, and the Mavericks easily won the finale, 102-76.

It was an impressive sweep of a good team. The showdown NBA observers had waited all year for was now looming in the second round—the battle with San Antonio. And it would be a series for the ages.

Game 1 was marked by good defense both ways. Dirk got his numbers, at 20 points/14 rebounds, but only shot 8-for-20. Terry went 6-for-18 from the floor. It was tight, but the Mavs dropped an 87-85 decision.

Dallas got a big contribution from Devin Harris in Game 2, as he scored 20 points. Howard delivered a 27/9 line, while Dirk added 21/9. The Mavericks played desperate, opened the game up in the second quarter and won 113-91. They had their road win.

The middle games back in Dallas would both be thrillers. Dirk got to the foul line consistently, and made 21 of 24 free throw attempts, en route to 27 points/15 rebounds. Harris scored 24. But the Mavs dropped a 104-103 heartbreaker.

Harris continued to produce in the must-have Game 4, scoring 18. Stackhouse came off the bench to score 26. Dirk delivered a 28/9 line. And Terry came through, pouring in 32 points. It took overtime, but the Mavericks survived, 123-118.

Dirk went into San Antonio for Game 5, scored 31 points and grabbed ten rebounds. But he didn’t have enough help in another thriller, and the Mavericks lost 98-97. They were in a 3-2 series hole and the losses had been by a combined four points.

It was time for some close games to fall the Mavs way. Game 6 was tied after three quarters. Both teams were playing well defensively. Dirk scored 26, and he also attacked the glass for 21 rebounds. Dallas delivered down the stretch, won 91-86 and forced Game 7.

A series that had seen five of the first six games go down to the wire should only end one way—with an overtime Game 7. That’s what went down in San Antonio. Dirk and Spurs counterpart Tim Duncan staged an epic battle. Dirk’s 37 points/15 rebounds were the Dallas answer to Duncan’s 41/15. Terry added 27 points. The Mavericks took over the OT session and got a 119-111 win. They had pulled out one of the NBA’s greatest playoff battles on the road against the defending champs.

They were still only halfway through the playoffs. And waiting in the conference finals were the explosive Phoenix Suns. The league’s best offense was run by two-time MVP point guard Steve Nash, including Shawn Marion and a balanced lineup overall. What the Suns did not do well was defend. Fans could expect a lot of points.

It bears noting that the NBA’s playoff seeding had another quirk. Division winners might get the top three seeds, but the league still awarded homecourt advantage to the team with the better record. Thus, even though Dallas was the 4-seed and Phoenix the 2-seed, the 60-win Mavericks got homecourt over the 54-win Suns.

Harris continued his big postseason with 30 points in the opener at home, while Dirk had a big 25/19 night. But Dallas couldn’t contain the array of weapons Phoenix had, both teams shot the ball well, and the Mavs dropped a 121-118 overtime decision.

When Dallas trailed by two after three quarters in Game 2, their playoff fate was in serious jeopardy. What they were doing though, was rebounding—a 48-32 advantage. That showed up in the fourth quarter. Dirk finished with a 30/14 night, Howard added a 29/7 line, and the Mavericks evened the series with a 105-98 win.

They still had to reclaim homecourt and they brought the defensive intensity in Game 3. Dirk and Howard continued to produce—a combined 50 points/29 rebounds—and Dallas forced Phoenix into a relatively lower-scoring affair. A 95-88 win put the Mavs back in control of the series.

Perhaps the security of the road win led to the letdown in Game 4. Dirk had his worst game of the postseason, no one else produced and the result was a non-competitive 106-86 loss. But Dallas quickly reversed gear back at home for Game 5. They jumped out to a 36-23 lead after the first quarter, and Dirk exploded for 50 points. While the game tightened midway through, the Mavs pulled back away down the stretch and won 117-101.

On the cusp of their first Finals appearance, Dallas fell behind early in Game 6, giving up 40 points in the first quarter. But they settled down defensively. They consistently got to the foul line. Dirk and Howard combined for 44 points/25 rebounds. And the Mavs exploded for a 40-point quarter of their own in the final period. The 102-93 win made them champions of the Western Conference.

Miami had upset Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat had a young Dwayne Wade in the backcourt, a veteran Shaquille O’Neal in the post and a Hall of Fame coach in Pat Riley.

After falling behind by eight after the first quarter of Game 1, Terry heated up and scored 32 points. Even with Dirk having a rough 4-for-14 shooting night, the Mavericks still worked their way back into it. They outscored the Heat 20-7 on the free throw line, controlled the fourth quarter and won 90-80. Then they dominated Game 2, breaking it open in the second quarter, winning the rebounding battle 46-32 and taking a 99-85 decision.

The NBA Finals used a 2-3-2 scheduling format from 1985 through 2013. While Dallas was staring at three straight road games, the flip side was that just one win would put them in complete command when the series came back home.

And they had a nine-point lead going into the fourth quarter of Game 3. But the next five quarters of basketball would be disastrous. Dallas didn’t rebound, let the lead slip away and lost 98-96. Then they completely no-showed Game 4, shooting poorly with non-existent rebounding. A 98-74 loss evened up the series.

Game 5 in South Beach would be one of the most controversial games in NBA history. Dallas owner Mark Cuban was a rebel, not particularly well-liked in the league’s hierarchy. Whether that had anything to do with what happened is anyone’s guess, but there’s no question that the officiating in this game left a lot of fair questions, even for the non-conspiracy theorist.

It starts with the fact that Wade was sent to the free throw line 25 times, an astonishingly high figure for one individual player and as many as the entire Dallas team attempted. More concerning were the final two attempts. Dallas clung to a 100-99 lead in overtime. With one second left, a phantom foul was called against Wade. He made the free throws, and the Mavs suffered a 101-100 loss.

Dallas still had homecourt, so this series was far from over. They took a 30-23 lead after the first quarter of Game 6. Dirk went for 29 points/15 rebounds. But the rest of the team was not shooting well. Terry only went 7-for-25, and Howard struggled to a 5-for-16 night. Dallas was outrebounded. And Wade kept scoring. It was close, but the Mavericks’ Finals collapse was completed with a 95-92 loss.

A magnificent season had concluded with an exceptionally bitter pill to swallow. It seemed to hang over the franchise for several years. Over the next four seasons, Dallas continued to be a contending team, but their postseasons were marked by chronic underperformance. Until 2011. They got back to the Finals. Once again, Miami was waiting. And this time, the Mavericks took their revenge and got a breakthrough championship.