Dallas Mavericks: 5 best Mavs moments of the last decade

3. Dirk leads the Mavs back in Game 2 of the 2011 NBA Finals

The Dallas Mavericks were massive underdogs in the 2011 NBA Finals. Nobody gave them a serious chance to win. The Mavs lost the opening game by eight points. Let us fast forward to the fourth quarter of Game 2.

Dwyane Wade, possibly the greatest villain in Mavs history, knocks down a 3-pointer with 7:14 left in the game. He taunts the Dallas bench on his way back down the court. The lead is now 88-73. Rick Carlisle calls a timeout.

It felt like that might be it. Not just for the game, but for the series. How could Dallas matchup with this super team? Then, they came out of the break on a mission.

Terry jumper. Terry layup. Marion layup. Kidd three. Terry jumper. Dirk jumper. Dirk fast-break layup.

Suddenly the game is all tied up, 90-90, with 58 seconds left. The ball gets swung to Nowitzki and he drills a 3-pointer. The Mavs had erased a 15-point fourth quarter deficit to take a 93-90 lead. Then a blown defensive assignment leaves Mario Chalmers all alone for a game-tying triple.

Carlisle calls another timeout with 24.5 seconds remaining. Then, the most important shot in franchise history happened.

Dirk blows by Chris Bosh and makes a game-winning layup with 3.6 seconds remaining. He had scored the team’s last nine points to knot the series up at one game apiece. Nowitzki did all of this with a broken left middle finger. It remains to this day one of the greatest comeback victories in NBA history.

Hope was restored, and the Dallas Mavericks were right back in the series. The rest is history.

Next: Legends never die