MIAMI: Let's Go Heat... Let's Go Heat. The slow, rhythmic chant pierced the night each time Miami Heat pushed into Dallas Mavericks' territory; the electronic beat, sounding like the thump of a thousand hearts, rose in sync to steadily take it to a crescendo.
It was almost like Dwayne Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh were being propelled into the kill.
For the Mavericks, though, it all must have sounded like a well-planned death-knell; with 7 minutes still on the clock, not surprisingly, they were hopelessly behind by 15 points. The celebrations inside the packed AA Arena had already begun.
Yet, it all changed suddenly. Almost miraculously, the Mavs came back to life in the dying moments of the game. With barely 3 seconds left, Dirk Nowitzki stormed through a wall of three defenders to layup a near impossible shot: 95-93. Time had cheated the Heat.
Wade, in desperation, went for a 28-foot three-pointer; at the same moment, the whistle blew. The ball sailed high into the air and missed the mark. The Heat had lost Game 2 of the Finals; it's 1-1 now, with the bandwagon and razzmatazz moving to cowboy town for the next three matches.
The packed, wildly screaming Heat fans could only watch in disbelief as the story turned on its head. A tormented Nowitzki sank 9 points in the final moments to script the amazing, nearly impossible turnaround; he won't worry about the 2006 finals, when a simple miss, cost him and his side the title in the same matchup.
You could sense his determination, and the Mavs faith in him, when the clock began its final assault; playing a lot more aggressively, and driving closer to the board, he charged and hustled and went for his shots. A couple of times the ball kissed the rim, hung there for agonising nano seconds before popping out. Just like last time.
But he didn't waver. He kept attacking and a daring three-pointer at 90-90, with 26 seconds left, handed the Mavs the lead; the Heat responded swiftly, with Mario Chalmers creating the space and coming up with a 24-foot three point jumper. 93-93. 20 seconds left.
As the Heat closed down ranks and tightened the wall, Nowitzki stormed in, pirouetted once, twice to give himself room for the driving layup. 95-93. It was fitting that he tapped the ball in with his left hand, the hand that had been the cause of most conversations here following an injury in Game 1. It didn't bother him; it didn't stop him. Great players don't feel pain at such moments, in such games.
It was an electrifying, highly-physical game with neither team yielding an inch; it unfolded at a stunning pace, with the first two quarters ending on equal terms. If in the first one, the Mavericks did the catching at 28-28, in the second the Heat wiped off a 9-point deficit for 51-51. By the third, though, the chant started taking its toll and the Mavs fell behind by four points (75-71).
In the last quarter, they were stunned into submission; at one stage, they were trailing 73-88, with no hope in hell. Yet, somehow, they found the will and the luck to tear down the gap. As the final moments dawned, the Heat panicked and went for loose, long shots.
A standout performance by their 2006 star, Wade, wasn't enough; his 36 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists were, however, not enough for the day; LeBron (20) and Bosh (12) were equally effective but their defensive play crumbled at the worst time. Dowitzki, who struggled with his long shots initially, led the charge with 24 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists.
