Coming Through In The Clutch
For the first time in the 2011 NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks’ supporting cast carried the load in the fourth quarter of Game Five — propelling Dallas to the win and a commanding 3-2 series lead heading back to South Beach.
After the way he’s performed throughout the 2011 NBA Postseason, from here on out we should just refer to the fourth quarter as Dirk Time. Dirk Nowitzki has put the Mavericks on his back time and time again in crunch time this postseason en route to a 2-2 NBA Finals stalemate against the Miami HEAT.
Thursday night was a different story.
Jason Terry, J.J. Barea, Tyson Chandler and Jason Kidd all had game-changing plays throughout the contest, but especially in the pivotal fourth quarter of Game Five that directly resulted in a Mavericks’ victory.
Let’s break this down how each one of these players put their stamp on the game for Dallas:
Jason Terry
Terry, who was more explosive in Game Five than he has been in any contest since Game Four against the Los Angeles Lakers in the semifinals, played the role of closer as Dallas took control in the final frame. The former Sixth Man of the Year nailed two huge three-pointers and dished out assists on each of the other two Mavericks’ baskets in the final 3:23 of regulation.
“He made big shots,” HEAT forward LeBron James, who was in charge of reigning in Terry in the pivotal fourth quarter, said after the game. “He made some great three-point shots tonight. A hand contested in his face… He’s just aggressive. We always said when he plays well, they’re very tough to beat.
“That’s what he’s done over the past two games.”
Terry finished with 21 points (on 8-12 shooting including 3-5 from deep) to go along with six assists and four rebounds as Dallas closed out the game on a 17-4 run.
“JET was phenomenal,” Nowitzki said. “He was aggressive again from the get-go, I felt. Even the first half he came in, had a couple of pull-ups, got in the lane, got a floater. That’s the JET we need.
“We need JET attacking. He was great.”
Coming through in the clutch, Terry scored eight of the Mavericks’ final 17 points.
J.J. Barea
Making his second start of the 2011 postseason, Barea made the most of his insertion into the starting lineup in Game Five. After scoring a total of just 21 points on under 30 percent shooting from the field through the first four games of the NBA Finals, Barea hit 54.5 percent of his shots and scored 17 points to go along with five assists in Game Five.
“Barea’s penetration was terrific,” Mavericks’ head coach Rick Carlisle said. “He got going with his outside game and his inside game, which really helped us.”
Speaking of his outside game, a non-existent facet of his basketball-repertoire to start the season, Barea knocked down 4 of 5 attempts from deep as he led the way for a Mavericks team that nailed a whopping 68.4 percent of their 3-pointers for the game.
Tyson Chandler
Following a monster Game Four in which he brought down a game-high 16 rebounds and scored 13 points, Chandler continued his dominant post play Thursday night. The Mavericks’ big man made his mark in the paint with 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks while holding Chris Bosh to a very quiet 19 points on the night.
{AUTHOR_BOX}The Mavericks’ big man, who is easily the team’s best post player both on the defensive end and in terms of rebounding the basketball, has responded to the challenge of an increase in minutes due to backup center Brendan Haywood’s hip injury. More minutes have equaled more production from Chandler as he has proved over the last two contests that he can be a game-changer at the center position to go along with being “one of the heart and soul guys” on this team, as Coach Carlisle characterized him earlier this season.
Jason Kidd
Kidd, who many jokingly reported had retired somewhere in the midst of Game Four, came back with an impressive outing in Game Five. The Mavericks’ point guard scored a personal 2011 Finals-best 13 points, on an efficient 4-6 shooting (3-5 from behind the arc), and filled up the stat-sheet with six assists, three steals, two rebounds and a block in 40 minutes.
In crunch time, over the final two minutes of the contest, Kidd scored half of the Mavericks’ final 10 points to preserve the victory; including a 3-point dagger with 1:25 remaining that put Dallas ahead 105-100 and put the HEAT at arms length — where they would stay for the rest of the contest.
“It’s all about our leader Jason Kidd,” Terry said of his teammate. “The way he plays the game, the way he has always played the game rubs off. The extra pass for us is what we have to do to be successful.”
Nowitzki, on the other hand, scored less than double-digits in the fourth quarter (eight points) for the first time all series. In fact, Dallas needed just two points from it’s superstar over the last 2:45 of the contest to pull out the 112-103 W.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that have been terrific finishers for us,” Coach Carlisle said. “A lot of times our game becomes very balanced. We had five guys score in double figures tonight… That’s kind of defined us as a team.
“There’s no set formula, other than we need each other.”
Make no mistake, Nowitzki finished with his usual monster outing; totaling a game-high 29 points (on 50 percent shooting) to go along with six rebounds, three assists and one steal. The difference was that, for once in The Finals, Nowitzki wasn’t explicitly relied upon to be the Mavericks’ sole offensive weapon in crunch time and that’s why this team is one win away from the first title in franchise history.
Follow Derek Page on Twitter for all of your basketball needs.
Loading ...
