*Last night has to be psychologically devastating to Miami. Remember after the Mavs lost Game 3 in '06 very similarly -- they were up 13 with six minutes left -- they never showed up in Game 4, eventually losing by 24 in a no-contest blowout.
*Poor Dallas Stars. No owner. No coach. And now no star player. Add it all up and that's no relevance.
*For the Mavs, a classic comeback. For the Heat, a case of premature evacuation.
*I put the Mavs' victory at 75-percent comeback/ 25-percent collapse. After the game Wade said players were alerted in the preceding timeout huddle to Dallas' final possession about having a foul to give. But when Dirk got the ball in his office -- left elbow -- against Chris Bosh, no double-team nor foul came. Befuddling if you're pulling for Miami.
*Mavs weren't the only team to rally against an elite home team last night. Rangers came back from down 0-3 to beat the Cleveland Indians behind a nice outing by Michael Kirkman. Bad news: Brandon Webb suffered yet another setback. And what's this: More financial trouble? Ugh.
*Basketball > Bonkers. For most of the game it looked like the Harlem Globetrotters putting on a show against the Washington Generals. Dunks. Celebrations. Blowout. In the end, Dallas' substance to overcome all that style was two left-handed layups off the glass. Beautiful.
*Dr. Jack Kevorkian has died. Did he take the Heat with him?
*Game 2's Mavs' rally switched the scoreboard, changed the series and forever altered Dallas' reputation. Soft teams don't come back from 15 in the fourth against The King in his castle.
*Lost in all of Dirk's heroics was a gritty defensive play by Terry. After LeBron missed another shot-clock-induced 3-pointer, Udonis Haslem grabbed the rebound in the lane and went up for a layup that would've given Miami a four-point lead with one minute remaining. Instead, Terry blocked the shot from behind, Haslem chased the ball out of bounds and inexplicably threw it back in. Terry, Shawn Marion and Dirk then worked their version of the fast break: three chest passes and a layup.
*Last July LeBron had "The Decision." Last night Wade had "The Denigration."
*Couldn't have scripted this thing any better. While LeBron and Wade didn't make a shot after Wade's punk-ass pose, the two Mavs' holdovers from '06 -- Dirk and Terry -- went 7 of 8 to lead the ridiculous rally. For the record, it's the biggest NBA Finals comeback since Michael Jordan led the Bulls back over Portland in '92.
*This weekend? After a late night and an early morning, I'm back in Dallas. Lounging by the pool/lake Saturday. Mavs-Heat Game 3 Sunday night at AAC. Life is good great. So don't be a stranger.
