2006 NBA Finals

The 2006 NBA Finals was the championship series of the 2005–06 National Basketball Association season. The Miami Heat won the title in six games over the Dallas Mavericks, becoming the third team—after the 1969 Celtics and the 1977 Trail Blazers—to win a championship after trailing 0–2 in the series. Dwyane Wade of the Heat was named Most Valuable Player of the series.[1]

2006 NBA Finals
The wordmark of the NBA Finals (2003–2017)
TeamCoachWins
Miami Heat Pat Riley 4
Dallas Mavericks Avery Johnson 2
DatesJune 8–20
MVPDwyane Wade
(Miami Heat)
Hall of FamersHeat:
Gary Payton (2013)
Alonzo Mourning (2014)
Shaquille O'Neal (2016)
Coaches:
Pat Riley (2008)
Officials:
Dick Bavetta (2015)
Eastern FinalsHeat defeated Pistons, 4–2
Western FinalsMavericks defeated Suns, 4–2

This series marked the first time since 1971 that the Finals featured two teams playing in their first NBA Finals series. It was the first occasion since 1978 that two teams who had never won an NBA Championship contested the NBA Finals. The two teams met again five years later in 2011, the second Finals appearance for both franchises, with the Mavericks winning the rematch over the Heat.

This was the second NBA Finals matchup of teams from Florida and Texas, after the Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic contested the 1995 NBA Finals. Until the Miami Heat defeated the San Antonio Spurs in the 2013 NBA Finals, it was the last Finals loss by a team from Texas (the Rockets lost in 1981 and 1986) against eight championships (five by the Spurs, two by the Rockets, and one by the Mavericks, who won a rematch of this Finals in 2011).

This, along with 2004 and 2008, was one of only three NBA championships in the 2000s to be won by a team other than either the Los Angeles Lakers or the San Antonio Spurs.

Background

The Miami Heat joined the league in the 1988–89 season, but they did not rise to prominence until they hired Pat Riley to be their head coach and president before the 1995–96 season. In Riley's first stint, the Heat were playoff regulars between 1996 and 2001, however, the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks always thwarted Miami's dreams of a championship or even a Finals berth. However, when the team drafted Dwyane Wade fifth overall in 2003, things started to look up for the Heat. They went 42-40 under interim coach Stan Van Gundy, making the playoffs after a 2-year hiatus. They defeated the New Orleans Hornets in the first round, but they ultimately fell to the Pacers in 6 games.[2] The 2004 offseason saw the addition of Shaquille O'Neal, and with Wade and O'Neal performing well, the Heat won 59 games in the 2004–05 season, as they took the defending champions Detroit Pistons to seven games in the conference finals. The following season, after an early 11–10 start, Van Gundy resigned and Riley returned to coaching. Though injuries and lack of chemistry hobbled the Heat initially, they still managed to win 52 games that season. After a culmination of harmony and momentum came together just before the playoffs, they started their postseason run by defeating the Bulls in six games, then eliminated the New Jersey Nets in five games, and then ousted the Pistons in six games to reach the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.

Path to the Finals

Dallas Mavericks (Western Conference champion)Miami Heat (Eastern Conference champion)
# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-San Antonio Spurs6319.768-
2 y-Phoenix Suns5428.6599
3 y-Denver Nuggets4438.53719
4 x-Dallas Mavericks6022.7323
5 x-Memphis Grizzlies4933.59814
6 x-Los Angeles Clippers4735.57316
7 x-Los Angeles Lakers4537.54918
8 x-Sacramento Kings4438.53719
9 Utah Jazz4141.50022
10 New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets3844.46325
11 Seattle SuperSonics3547.42728
12 Golden State Warriors3448.41529
13 Houston Rockets3448.41529
14 Minnesota Timberwolves3349.40230
15 Portland Trail Blazers2161.25642

4th seed in the West, 3rd best league record

Regular season
Eastern Conference
# Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Detroit Pistons6418.780-
2 y-Miami Heat5230.63412
3 y-New Jersey Nets4933.59815
4 x-Cleveland Cavaliers5032.61014
5 x-Washington Wizards4240.51222
6 x-Indiana Pacers4141.50023
7 x-Chicago Bulls4141.50023
8 x-Milwaukee Bucks4042.48824
9 Philadelphia 76ers3844.46326
10 Orlando Magic3646.43928
11 Boston Celtics3349.40231
12 Toronto Raptors2755.32937
13 Charlotte Bobcats2656.31738
14 Atlanta Hawks2656.31738
15 New York Knicks2359.28041
2nd seed in the East, 5th best league record
Defeated the (5) Memphis Grizzlies, 4–0 First Round Defeated the (7) Chicago Bulls, 4–2
Defeated the (1) San Antonio Spurs, 4–3 Conference Semifinals Defeated the (3) New Jersey Nets, 4–1
Defeated the (2) Phoenix Suns, 4–2 Conference Finals Defeated the (1) Detroit Pistons, 4–2

Regular-season series

The Dallas Mavericks won both games in the regular season series:

Broadcasting

ABC had exclusive rights to televise the NBA Finals in the United States.[3] Play-by-play announcer Mike Breen and color commentator Hubie Brown called the action, with courtside reporting by Lisa Salters and Stuart Scott. Radio counterpart ESPN Radio broadcast the Finals, with Jim Durham and Dr. Jack Ramsay calling the action. The featured song, aired throughout the playoffs, was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "Runnin' Down a Dream."

Game 2 of the Finals, which took place the same evening as the 60th Tony Awards, was the most-watched program of June 11, 2006. ABC won the night with 3.5 rating and 10 share, CBS came in fourth with a 1.5/4 for the Tonys.[4] On June 20, Game 6 had a 4.4/13 among viewers aged 18–49.[5]

The finals were shown on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland.

Starting lineups

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame‡

MiamiPositionDallas
Jason WilliamsPGJason Terry
Dwyane WadeSGMarquis Daniels
Antoine WalkerSFJosh Howard
Udonis HaslemPFDirk Nowitzki
Shaquille O'NealCErick Dampier

Rosters

Miami Heat

Roster listing
2005–06 Miami Heat roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
SG 5 Anderson, Derek 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1974–07–18 Kentucky
SF 49 Anderson, Shandon 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 1973–12–31 Georgia
C 30 Barron, Earl 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1981–08–14 Memphis
C 51 Doleac, Michael 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 262 lb (119 kg) 1977–06–15 Utah
PF 40 Haslem, Udonis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1980–06–09 Florida
SF 24 Kapono, Jason 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 213 lb (97 kg) 1981–02–04 UCLA
C 33 Mourning, Alonzo 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1970–02–08 Georgetown
C 32 O'Neal, Shaquille 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 325 lb (147 kg) 1972–03–06 LSU
PG 20 Payton, Gary 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1968–07–23 Oregon State
SF 42 Posey, James 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1977–01–13 Xavier
PF 25 Simien, Wayne 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1983–03–09 Kansas
SG 3 Wade, Dwyane 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1982–01–17 Marquette
PF 8 Walker, Antoine 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 224 lb (102 kg) 1976–08–12 Kentucky
PG 55 Williams, Jason 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1975–11–18 Florida
SF 1 Wright, Dorell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1985–12–02 South Kent School (CT)
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (DL) On assignment to D-League affiliate
  • Injured

Dallas Mavericks

Roster listing
2005–06 Dallas Mavericks roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
PG 10 Armstrong, Darrell 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1968–06–22 Fayetteville State
C 25 Dampier, Erick 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1975–07–14 Mississippi State
SG 6 Daniels, Marquis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1981–01–07 Auburn
C 7 Diop, DeSagana 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 300 lb (136 kg) 1982–01–30 Oak Hill Academy (VA)
SG 44 Griffin, Adrian 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 217 lb (98 kg) 1974–07–04 Seton Hall
PG 34 Harris, Devin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 1983–02–27 Wisconsin
SF 5 Howard, Josh 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1980–04–28 Wake Forest
C 28 Mbenga, D. J. 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1980–12–30 Belgium
PF 41 Nowitzki, Dirk 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1978–06–19 Germany
PF 33 Powell, Josh 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1983–01–25 North Carolina State
SG 42 Stackhouse, Jerry 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1974–11–5 North Carolina
PG 31 Terry, Jason 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1977–09–15 Arizona
SF 2 Van Horn, Keith 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1975–10–23 Utah
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (DL) On assignment to D-League affiliate
  • Injured

Series summary

GameDateAway TeamResultHome Team
Game 1Thursday, June 8Miami Heat80–90 (0–1)Dallas Mavericks
Game 2Sunday, June 11Miami Heat86–99 (0–2)Dallas Mavericks
Game 3Tuesday, June 13Dallas Mavericks96–98 (2–1)Miami Heat
Game 4Thursday, June 15Dallas Mavericks74–98 (2–2)Miami Heat
Game 5Sunday, June 18Dallas Mavericks100–101 (OT) (2–3)Miami Heat
Game 6Tuesday, June 20Miami Heat95–92 (4–2)Dallas Mavericks

The Heat became the second team since 1985 to sweep the middle three games at home, the 2004 Detroit Pistons being the first. In 1985 the NBA switched the Finals to the 2-3-2 format, which was changed back to the 2-2-1-1-1 format for the 2014 NBA Finals

Game summaries

Game One

Dallas' Jason Terry scored a playoff-high 32 points as the Mavericks overcame a 31–23 deficit at the end of the first quarter.

June 8
9:00pm ET
1 at the Wayback Machine (archived December 1, 2010)
Miami Heat 80, Dallas Mavericks 90
Scoring by quarter: 31–23, 13–23, 24–24, 12–20
Pts: Dwyane Wade 28
Rebs: Udonis Haslem 8
Asts: Dwyane Wade 6
Pts: Jason Terry 32
Rebs: Josh Howard 12
Asts: Nowitzki, Howard 4 each
Dallas leads series, 1–0.
American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 20,475
Referees:

Game Two

Dirk Nowitzki had a stellar 26 point-16 rebound performance, and the Mavericks cruised past the Heat to take a 2–0 series lead.

June 11
9:00pm ET
2 at the Wayback Machine (archived December 1, 2010)
Miami Heat 85, Dallas Mavericks 99
Scoring by quarter: 17–18, 17–32, 24–32, 27–17
Pts: Dwyane Wade 23
Rebs: Dwyane Wade 8
Asts: Payton, Williams 4 each
Pts: Dirk Nowitzki 26
Rebs: Dirk Nowitzki 16
Asts: Jason Terry 9
Dallas leads series, 2–0.
American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 20,459
Referees:

Game Three

Game 3 of the 2006 NBA Finals

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. The momentum-changing comeback was capped by a Gary Payton field goal from just inside the three-point line with 9.3 seconds left. Dirk Nowitzki had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line with 3.4 seconds to go, but missed 1 of 2, sealing the win for Miami.

June 13
9:00pm ET
3 at the Wayback Machine (archived December 1, 2010)
Dallas Mavericks 96, Miami Heat 98
Scoring by quarter: 21–29, 22–23, 34–16, 19–30
Pts: Dirk Nowitzki 30
Rebs: Erick Dampier 9
Asts: Jason Terry 5
Pts: Dwyane Wade 42
Rebs: Dwyane Wade 13
Asts: Shaquille O'Neal 5
Dallas leads series, 2–1.
American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Attendance: 20,145
Referees:

Game Four

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. Jerry Stackhouse was the final NBA player to be suspended in the NBA Finals until Draymond Green was suspended in the 2016 NBA Finals.

June 15
9:00pm ET
4 at the Wayback Machine (archived December 1, 2010)
Dallas Mavericks 74, Miami Heat 98
Scoring by quarter: 25–30, 19–24, 23–24, 7–20
Pts: Jason Terry 17
Rebs: Dirk Nowitzki 9
Asts: Jerry Stackhouse 4
Pts: Dwyane Wade 36
Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 13
Asts: Jason Williams 6
Series tied, 2–2.
American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Attendance: 20,145
Referees:

Game Five

Dwyane Wade shot 25 free throws - as many free throws as all the Mavericks combined (a fact that did not sit well with Mavericks head coach Avery Johnson[6]), leading the Heat to their third straight win over Dallas after being down 0–2 in the series.

With 9.1 seconds left in overtime and the Heat trailing by 1 point, they inbounded the ball to Wade, who caught the ball in the air and then landed in the backcourt. Mavericks' team owner Mark Cuban felt Wade had therefore committed a backcourt violation after receiving the ball.

Dallas was then penalized with a controversial foul call that sent Wade to the line to shoot the go-ahead free throws with 1.9 seconds left on the overtime game clock. Wade hit the first free throw, and Dallas Mavericks coach Avery Johnson signaled to his team to call a timeout after Wade's second attempt. Josh Howard then made a timeout gesture with his hands and began to walk off the floor, and the referees called the Mavericks' last remaining timeout, which prevented them from advancing the ball after the second attempt if Wade converted. After the timeout, Wade made the second free throw to give his team a one-point lead, after which Devin Harris missed a Hail Mary half-court shot as time expired. Wade finished the game with 43 points while setting an NBA Finals record for most made free throws in a game with 21.[7] Shaquille O'Neal added a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Miami converted 32 of its 49 attempts from the free throw line.

Jason Terry led Dallas with 35 points in a losing effort, while Howard added 25. After the game, a frustrated Dirk Nowitzki kicked a ball into the stands and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban caused many "acts of misconduct" resulting in fines of $5,000 and $250,000, respectively, for the two men.[8]

June 18
9:00pm ET
"5". Archived from the original on 2010-12-01. Retrieved 2016-02-04.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Dallas Mavericks 100, Miami Heat 101 (OT)
Scoring by quarter: 21–24, 30–19, 20–27, 22–23, Overtime: 7–8
Pts: Jason Terry 35
Rebs: Josh Howard 10
Asts: Marquis Daniels 4
Pts: Dwyane Wade 43
Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 12
Asts: Wade, Williams 4 each
Miami leads series, 3–2.
American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida
Attendance: 20,145
Referees:

Game Six

Behind Dwyane Wade's 36 points, Miami rallied from a 14-point first half deficit to edge Dallas and win their first championship in franchise history as Jason Terry missed a critical 3-pointer that would've sent the game to overtime. Averaging 34.7 points per game in the championship series, Wade was named NBA Finals MVP (Most Valuable Player).

June 20
9:00pm ET
"6". Archived from the original on 2010-12-01. Retrieved 2006-06-21.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Miami Heat 95, Dallas Mavericks 92
Scoring by quarter: 23–30, 26–18, 22–20, 24–24
Pts: Dwyane Wade 36
Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 12
Asts: Jason Williams 7
Pts: Dirk Nowitzki 29
Rebs: Dirk Nowitzki 15
Asts: Jason Terry 5
Miami wins series, 4–2.
American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Attendance: 20,522
Referees:

Player statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
Miami Heat
Miami Heat statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Shandon Anderson407.7.333.000.5001.80.80.00.01.5
Michael Doleac101.2.000.000.0000.00.00.00.00.0
Udonis Haslem6629.2.500.000.3006.20.31.20.06.5
Jason Kapono101.5.000.000.0000.00.00.00.00.0
Alonzo Mourning6011.0.692.000.6673.20.00.31.54.3
Shaquille O'Neal6635.2.607.000.29210.22.80.50.813.7
Gary Payton6022.3.368.143.3332.02.01.00.02.7
James Posey6029.5.419.400.7696.00.31.00.07.3
Dwyane Wade6643.5.468.273.7737.83.82.71.034.7
Antoine Walker6636.6.391.270.5565.52.20.70.513.8
Jason Williams6631.3.360.345.6361.84.70.50.08.8
Dallas Mavericks
Dallas Mavericks statistics
Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Darrell Armstrong106.3.000.000.0001.00.00.00.00.0
Erick Dampier6024.6.722.000.5008.20.31.00.75.7
Marquis Daniels608.8.545.333.8000.51.30.00.02.8
DeSagana Diop6615.7.500.000.5003.30.20.30.81.7
Adrian Griffin6313.7.563.000.0003.20.80.80.03.0
Devin Harris6324.5.364.000.7500.82.80.80.07.3
Josh Howard6638.4.388.263.8088.21.81.20.714.7
D. J. Mbenga204.5.000.000.0001.50.00.00.00.0
Dirk Nowitzki6643.7.390.250.89110.82.50.70.722.8
Josh Powell103.6.000.000.0001.00.00.00.00.0
Jerry Stackhouse5030.0.355.368.9293.43.00.80.612.8
Jason Terry6640.0.478.317.7332.23.51.80.022.0
Keith Van Horn507.8.273.167.00001.20.00.00.01.4

Aftermath

The Mavericks would post the league's best record with 67 victories in the 2006–07 NBA season but were ousted by the eight-seeded Golden State Warriors in a six-game first round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs. The Mavs' playoff defeat marked the first time a top seed was eliminated in a seven-game first round series since it was implemented in 2003. Still, Dirk Nowitzki was named the regular season MVP at season's end. After another playoff loss to the New Orleans Hornets in 2008, in which the Mavericks brought back Jason Kidd, head coach Avery Johnson was fired and replaced by Rick Carlisle. After another two early playoff exits, the Mavericks won 57 games in the 2010–11 season and returned to the Finals.

The Heat would lose convincingly by 42 points to the Chicago Bulls in the opening night of the 2006–07 season, the worst opening-day margin of defeat for a defending champion in NBA history. Injuries would keep the team from surpassing or even equaling last season's total, yet they still won the Southeast Division despite winning only 44 games. The Bulls would oust them in a four-game sweep in the first round of the playoffs, the first such occurrence since 1957. The following year, Miami completed its two-year turnaround from NBA champion to the NBA's worst team by winning only 15 games, equaling the mark set by the team in their inaugural season, which saw Shaquille O'Neal traded to the Phoenix Suns in mid-season and Dwyane Wade missing 31 games. The Heat gradually climbed back to contention in the Erik Spoelstra era, culminating in the much-publicized free-agent acquisitions of LeBron James and Chris Bosh. The Heat won 58 games in the 2010–11 season, and along with the Mavericks, returned to the Finals in 2011.

The 2011 NBA Finals, which was a rematch of 2006, saw the Mavericks win in six games after trailing 2-1 in the Finals. It was the Mavericks' first NBA championship, as well as both teams' second appearances in the Finals. Dirk Nowitzki was named Finals MVP. Like the Heat in 2006, the Mavericks experienced a post-championship letdown, getting swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the opening round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs, and then missed the postseason entirely in 2013.

As of 2013, this was Miami's fifth championship out of a total of seven among the Big Four sports leagues; the MLB's National League Florida (now Miami) Marlins won the World Series in 1997 and 2003 while the NFL's Miami Dolphins won the Super Bowl in 1972 and 1973. The Miami Heat would go on to win a second championship in 2012 against the Thunder in 5 games and a third championship in 2013 against the San Antonio Spurs in 7 games before falling in 2014 against the same Spurs team in 5 games.

This was the second "Big Four" postseason game or series to pit a team from Miami against a team from Dallas. In 1971, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Dolphins to claim their first of five Super Bowls. As of 2020, the city's NHL teams, the Stars and Panthers, have not met in the playoffs, as are their MLB counterparts the Rangers and Marlins.

References

  1. "2006 NBA Finals, Heat vs Mavericks". Basketball-Reference.com.
  2. http://nba-historical-teams.pointafter.com/l/284/2003-2004-Miami-Heat%5B%5D
  3. nba.com, NBA Announces 2005–06 Game And Television Schedule, accessed May 5, 2007.
  4. Stropoli, Rebecca (June 12, 2006). "NBA Finals a Slam Dunk for ABC". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  5. Stropoli, Rebecca (June 21, 2006). "Basketball Gives ABC Some "Heat"". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
  6. "Wade's Heroics Have Heat One Win From Title". Archived from the original on 2010-12-01. Retrieved 2006-06-19.
  7. usatoday.com, No backcourt violation on winning possession, NBA says, accessed May 5, 2007.
  8. espn.com, Cuban fined $250K for actions after Game 5, accessed May 5, 2007.
  • "Official website". Archived from the original on November 19, 2010. Retrieved December 9, 2011.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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