Mark Cuban Reveals What Really Sparked The Dallas Mavericks' 2011 Championship Victory Over The Miami Heat
Cuban said Pat Riley provoked him during halftime in Game 2 of the NBA Finals
The Dallas Mavericks’ 2011 NBA championship against the Miami Heat is still considered one of the greatest ones ever, mainly because of the Heat’s “Big Three” with superstars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
However, behind their lone title was a lot of off-the-court antics.
The most notable one was the viral video of Wade and James mocking Mavericks’ superstar Dirk Nowitzki’s sickness before Game 5 of the Finals. But Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban revealed one that most people don’t know about.
On a recent episode of Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes’ All The Smoke podcast, Cuban said Heat president Pat Riley provoked him, which sparked a fire in the Mavericks.
"Pat Riley says to me at halftime as I'm walking through, because you had to walk through the middle part right there,” Cuban said. “He goes, 'Not long enough, not strong enough, Mark. We're just too quick and too long.' I'm like, I didn't say anything bad, it's Pat Riley, right? I'm not going to disrespect him. I'm like, 'Okay.' And then we come back. It was nice.”
The contest Cuban is referring to is Game 2 when both teams went into halftime tied at 51. The Mavericks then went on to score 44 second-half points, including Nowitzki’s clutch layup which secured a 95-93 victory for them. The Heat won Game 3 but the Mavericks controlled the series from then on out, ultimately winning Games 4, 5, and 6. Nowitzki also won Finals MVP for his performances.
Although the Heat won back-to-back championships the next two years, the Mavericks’ title will remain one of the most impressive ones.
Cory Nelson is a contributor to Fansided’s “Wiz of Awes”. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson and Instagram @ckenzynelson