Well, that was predictable. Possibly for strategic reasons to keep him fresh late into the game, possibly because of his injured finger, Rick Carlisle opted to put Dirk Nowitzki on the bench just halfway through the first quarter. Since doing that, over the last three minutes, the offense of the Dallas Mavericks has looked aimless, though they were bailed out of looking terrible statistically by a DeShawn Stevenson three-pointer that caused Erik Spoelstra to call timeout.
Honestly, the Heat offense hasn't looked a whole lot better over the last couple of minutes. It seems like Dirk's departure to the bench has them amped up, and as a result they're not being terribly patient. Similar to Dallas, a three-point shot by Mike Bibby has them looking not so terrible on the box score.
And really, makes like the ones Bibby and Stevenson have so far are the difference between this game and Game 1. Both teams are still playing solid defense, but role players are knocking down their shots at a much higher rate.
For live coverage of Game 2 of the NBA Finals, keep it tuned to this StoryStream. To see the up-to-the-minute score, along with information from around SB Nation on the game, keep your browser on this Heat-Mavs score page. Throughout the NBA Finals, check out our 2011 NBA Finals hub for more coverage. For more on the two teams, Mavericks fans should head over to Mavs Moneyball and SB Nation Dallas, while Heat fans should check out Peninsula Is Mightier.
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