Now that his teammates finally stepped up and hit shots in the clutch we can shift the narrative to his leadership inspiring his teammates and creating open looks for them. I feel like he's very close to Jerry West 1969 territory now regardless of how games 6 and 7 finish. Lebron may redeem himself and find his potential and Wade might put himself back into the pantheon as the Heat win the series but Dirk is not going down.
Gold from Dan Wetzel on yahoo
Gold from Dan Wetzel on yahoo
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“Dirk says they gave us the championship last year, but he’s the reason they lost,” Wade told Miami reporters in 2007. It’s “because he wasn’t the leader that he’s supposed to be in the closing moments.
“At the end of the day, you’re remembered for what you did at the end.”
Nowitzki has said nothing during this series about those words, about that charge against him half a decade ago.
Whatever his failure then has been corrected. Dallas has taken control of these Finals, taken mighty Miami and its all-star crew to the brink, taken the veneer of inevitability and invincibility right off LeBron James(notes) and Co. because Nowitzki has turned into a leader for the ages.
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It was how he’s helped build up a supporting crew of castoffs and role players, how he’s demanded excellence from starters and subs alike, how he’s found the perfect balance of knowing when to take command of a game and when to defer to a better option.
The Heat are a collection of talent still searching for their roles, still seeking consistency and accountability and urgency. It’s LeBron trying to sunshine another loss with “we played good enough to win.” Dallas has turned into this machine that keeps coming and coming and coming, undeterred by talent, unwilling to compromise.
“Persistence is our game,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said.
When six straight points gave the Heat a 96-95 lead with just 5:16 remaining, when America Airlines Center had gone from deafening to doubting, when it all seemed to be slipping away, there was the 7-foot German in the huddle during a timeout, pleading for exactly that persistence.
“Just stick with it,” he shouted. “Just stick with it.”
This was the series on the line. The Mavs had hit a million shots and were losing anyway. They were in the process of holding LeBron to another quiet fourth quarter (just two points) and were about to blow it still. So after Nowitzki was done talking – and after Wade had increased Miami’s lead with a 3-pointer – Nowitzki demanded the ball, got to the lane, got fouled and, of course, knocked down his free throws.
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Nowitzki has the Mavericks exactly where he wants them – believing so fully in themselves that they’ve found a way to close out games that all of Miami’s heavy hitters can’t.
And yes, it’s his team. It’s unequivocally his Mavericks. There isn’t a debate here; no star-by-committee system. He’s taken a hold of this group the way he grabs the news conference microphone. Owner Mark Cuban has stopped talking to the media, seemingly lifting a mountain of pressure off his troops. Carlisle is comfortable deflecting praise onto the players and spends half his time crediting Dirk effusively.
After the game, Terry talked about one of his late, contested threes, and acknowledged he was so confident he probably would’ve taken it even if the shot clock wasn’t running down.
“Dirk don’t want to hear that,” Terry said.
Not Carlisle, the coach. Dirk, the leader.
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It all comes through Dirk now, here in this tightest of Finals, here in this endless parade of pressurized moments. Torn tendon. High fever. Double teams. Nothing is stopping him. Nothing is keeping him from doing exactly what Dwyane Wade roasted him about five years ago.
“At the end of the day,” Wade said back then, “you’re remembered for what you did at the end.”
It’s 3-2 Dallas now. It’s one game from everything for these Mavericks. It’s one win from answering that long-ago criticism for Dirk Nowitzki.