2006 NBA Finals: Difference between revisions
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*Though many will remember this as coach Pat Riley's fifth NBA Championship as a coach, he actually won one as a player and one as an assistant coach for the [[Los Angeles Lakers]] in [[1980 NBA Finals|1980]], bringing his total to seven championships. He claimed he would give all his previous championships back just for this title with the Miami Heat. |
*Though many will remember this as coach Pat Riley's fifth NBA Championship as a coach, he actually won one as a player and one as an assistant coach for the [[Los Angeles Lakers]] in [[1980 NBA Finals|1980]], bringing his total to seven championships. He claimed he would give all his previous championships back just for this title with the Miami Heat. |
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*Riley was so confident in his team's ability (up 3-2 in the series after having won three straight in Miami) that when asked prior to Game 6 about their would-be plan for Game 7 he told reporters at a press conference that he only packed one suit, one shirt and one tie. |
*Riley was so confident in his team's ability (up 3-2 in the series after having won three straight in Miami) that when asked prior to Game 6 about their would-be plan for Game 7 he told reporters at a press conference that he only packed one suit, one shirt and one tie. |
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**Further, according to O'Neal, Riley had told |
**Further, according to O'Neal and many other Heat players, Riley had told them on the day the Finals started [[June 8]] that they would win the NBA Championship on [[June 20]]. |
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*All games were held in a building named after [[American Airlines]] with the [[American Airlines Center]] in [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]], and the [[AmericanAirlines Arena]] in [[Miami, Florida|Miami]]. Because of this, the series was nicknamed by some as the [[American Airlines]] Series |
*All games were held in a building named after [[American Airlines]] with the [[American Airlines Center]] in [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]], and the [[AmericanAirlines Arena]] in [[Miami, Florida|Miami]]. Because of this, the series was nicknamed by some as the [[American Airlines]] Series |
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*Both Dallas and Miami were [[expansion team]]s in the [[1980s]]; the Mavericks joined the league in [[1980-81 NBA season|1980]], and the Heat joined the league in [[1988-89 NBA season|1988]]. |
*Both Dallas and Miami were [[expansion team]]s in the [[1980s]]; the Mavericks joined the league in [[1980-81 NBA season|1980]], and the Heat joined the league in [[1988-89 NBA season|1988]]. |
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Revision as of 23:15, 11 November 2006
The 2006 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2005-06 National Basketball Association season. The Miami Heat won the championship in 6 games over the Dallas Mavericks, winning the final game at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, and becoming the third team to win a championship after trailing 0-2 in the series. This was the Heat's first championship in franchise history.
Heat guard Dwyane Wade was named Most Valuable Player of the series.
Format
The best-of-seven series began on June 8, 2006, with the Eastern Conference champion Heat (the second-seeded team in the East) playing the Western Conference champion Mavericks (the fourth-seeded team in the West). Because the Dallas Mavericks had a better regular season win-loss record, they had home court advantage.
The series was somewhat unusual in that it featured two teams who had never been to the NBA Finals before. The last time that happened was 35 seasons ago, when the Milwaukee Bucks, led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, beat the Baltimore Bullets 4-0 in the 1971 NBA Finals.
Broadcast notes
ABC had exclusive rights to televise the NBA Finals in the United States.[1] Play-by-play announcer Mike Breen and color commentator Hubie Brown called the action, with courtside reporting by Lisa Salters and Stuart Scott. The featured song, aired throughout the playoffs, was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "Runnin' Down a Dream."
Playoff rosters
(Coach: Avery Johnson)
Darrell Armstrong | Erick Dampier | Marquis Daniels | DeSagana Diop | Adrian Griffin | Devin Harris | Josh Howard | Didier Ilunga Mbenga | Dirk Nowitzki | Josh Powell | Jerry Stackhouse | Jason Terry | Keith Van Horn
(Coach: Pat Riley)
Derek Anderson | Shandon Anderson | Michael Doleac | Udonis Haslem | Jason Kapono | Alonzo Mourning | Shaquille O'Neal | Gary Payton | James Posey | Wayne Simien | Dwyane Wade | Antoine Walker | Jason Williams | Dorell Wright
Qualifying
- The Miami Heat won the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals over the Detroit Pistons, 4-2.
- The Dallas Mavericks won the 2006 Western Conference Finals over the Phoenix Suns, 4-2.
Results
(W4) Dallas Mavericks vs. (E2) Miami Heat
Miami wins series 4-2
- Game 1 @ Dallas: Dallas 90, Miami 80
- Game 2 @ Dallas: Dallas 99, Miami 85
- Game 3 @ Miami: Miami 98, Dallas 96
- Game 4 @ Miami: Miami 98, Dallas 74
- Game 5 @ Miami: Miami 101, Dallas 100 (OT)
- Game 6 @ Dallas: Miami 95, Dallas 92
Game One
Thursday, June 8, 2006, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Dallas' Jason Terry scored a playoff-high 32 points as the Mavericks overcame a 31-23 deficit at the end of the first quarter.
Team 1 2 3 4 Tot. Miami 31 13 24 12 80 Dallas 23 23 24 20 90
Major Statistical Leaders
Points - (32) Jason Terry (Dallas Mavericks)
Rebounds - (12) Josh Howard (Dallas Mavericks)
Assists - (6) Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat)
Game Two
Sunday, June 11, 2006, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Dirk Nowitzki had a stellar 26 point-16 rebound performance, and the Mavericks cruised passed the Heat to take a 2-0 series lead.
Team 1 2 3 4 Tot. Miami 17 17 24 27 85 Dallas 18 32 32 17 99
Major Statistical Leaders
Points - (26) Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks)
Rebounds - (16) Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks)
Assists - (9) Jason Terry (Dallas Mavericks)
Game Three
Tuesday, June 13, 2006, at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami.
Led by Dwyane Wade's 42 points and 13 rebounds, the Heat rallied from a 13-point deficit with six minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
Team 1 2 3 4 Tot. Dallas 21 22 34 19 96 Miami 29 23 16 30 98
Major Statistical Leaders
Points - (42) Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat)
Rebounds - (13) Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat)
Assists - (5) Shaquille O'Neal (Miami Heat) and Jason Terry (Dallas Mavericks)
Game Four
Thursday, June 15, 2006, at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami.
Dwyane Wade shined again for the Heat with 36 points, and Miami held Dallas to just seven points in the fourth quarter en route to a series-tying, blowout victory. The Mavericks' low-scoring fourth quarter was the lowest ever by any team during the NBA Finals. Jerry Stackhouse caught Shaquille O'Neal with a flagrant foul that resulted in him being suspended for Game 5.
Team 1 2 3 4 Tot. Dallas 25 19 23 7 74 Miami 30 24 24 20 98
Major Statistical Leaders
Points - (36) Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat)
Rebounds - (13) Shaquille O'Neal (Miami Heat)
Assists - (6) Jason Williams (Miami Heat)
Game Five
Sunday, June 18, 2006, at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami.
Making a strong case for NBA Finals MVP, Dwyane Wade was the star yet again with 43 points, leading the Heat to their third straight win over Dallas after being down 0-2 in the series. Wade hit the game-winning free throws with 1.9 seconds left, and also made the shot that sent the game into overtime. He set an NBA Finals record for most made free-throws in a game with 21.
After the game, Dirk Nowitzki kicked a ball into the stands and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban caused many "acts of misconduct" [2], resulting in both of them being fined $5,000 and $250,000 respectively.
Team 1 2 3 4 OT Tot. Dallas 21 30 20 22 7 100 Miami 24 19 27 23 8 101
Major Statistical Leaders
Points - (43) Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat)
Rebounds - (12) Shaquille O'Neal (Miami Heat)
Assists - (4) Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat), Jason Williams (Miami Heat), and Marquis Daniels (Dallas Mavericks)
Game Six
Tuesday, June 20, 2006, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Behind Dwyane Wade's 36 points, Miami edged Dallas to win their first championship in franchise history. Averaging 34.7 points per game in the championship series, Wade was named NBA Finals MVP.
Team 1 2 3 4 Tot. Miami 23 26 22 24 95 Dallas 30 18 20 24 92
Major Statistical Leaders
Points - (36) Dwyane Wade (Miami Heat)
Rebounds - (15) Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks)
Assists - (7) Jason Williams (Miami Heat)
Trivia
- This was the first NBA Finals series won by Shaquille O'Neal in which he wasn't named NBA Finals MVP.
- The Heat became the second team to win the three middle home games in a Finals series (2-3-2 format adopted in 1985), joining the 2004 Pistons as the only other to do so.
- Though many will remember this as coach Pat Riley's fifth NBA Championship as a coach, he actually won one as a player and one as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1980, bringing his total to seven championships. He claimed he would give all his previous championships back just for this title with the Miami Heat.
- Riley was so confident in his team's ability (up 3-2 in the series after having won three straight in Miami) that when asked prior to Game 6 about their would-be plan for Game 7 he told reporters at a press conference that he only packed one suit, one shirt and one tie.
- All games were held in a building named after American Airlines with the American Airlines Center in Dallas, and the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami. Because of this, the series was nicknamed by some as the American Airlines Series
- Both Dallas and Miami were expansion teams in the 1980s; the Mavericks joined the league in 1980, and the Heat joined the league in 1988.
- Miami becomes the third team in NBA history to win the NBA Finals after being down 0-2 in the series. The 1969 Boston Celtics and the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers were the other two. The Celtics won games 3, 4 and 6 at home while winning game 7 in Los Angeles against the Lakers, while the Blazers won against the Philadelphia 76ers in games 3, 4 and 6 at home and in game 5 on the road. The Heat are the only one of the three to come back in a 2-3-2 formatted series.
- The Heat are the third Miami-based professional sports team to ever win a championship. The Miami Dolphins won Super Bowls VII and VIII, and the Florida Marlins won the 1997 and 2003 World Series. In addition, the University of Miami have also won five National Championships in Division I college football.
- This was the second NBA Finals in which the two teams came from Florida and Texas. Shaquille O'Neal also played for the Florida-based team in the 1995 NBA Finals; his Orlando Magic was swept by the Houston Rockets that year.
- With the Mavericks' Finals debut, all three Texas teams have made the championship round at least once. The Rockets have the most Finals appearances with four (2 wins, 2 losses), and the San Antonio Spurs are next with three (all of them wins).
- The Mavs were third Texas team in the 2005-2006 seasons to make the championship in a major sport joining the Houston Astros and Texas Longhorns football team.
- The Heat's Antoine Walker and Derek Anderson won their second championship as teammates as the two were members of the 1996 National Champion University of Kentucky basketball team. Dallas' Keith Van Horn and Miami's Michael Doleac were also teammates at the University of Utah and from 1996 thru '98, Kentucky defeated Utah in the 1998 NCAA Championship Game.
- Both teams won their Conference Finals by the very same total that the Heat won the NBA Championship series, 4-2.
Officials
- Dick Bavetta (Game 4)
- Mike Callahan (Game 4)
- Dan Crawford (Games 3 & 6)
- Joe Crawford (Games 1 & 5)
- Bob Delaney (Game 2)
- Joe DeRosa (Games 1 & 5)
- Bernie Fryer (Game 4)
- Steve Javie (Games 2 & 6)
- Ken Mauer (Game 3)
- Jack Nies (Game 3)
- Eddie F. Rush (Games 2 & 6)
- Bennett Salvatore (Games 1 & 5)