LeBron James Finals Re-Watch Diary: Game 2, 2011 NBA Finals

The rewatch continues as LeBron James and the Miami Heat blow a 15-point lead to lose their series lead against Dirk and the Mavericks.

During the NBA’s indefinite hiatus, I will be rewatching every game of LeBron’s NBA Finals career. Every Finals game from the last 20 years is available to NBA League Pass subscribers on the NBA app or through apps like YouTube TV. We will be going chronologically through LeBron’s Finals career. 

Previous Games

Game 1, 2007 NBA Finals: LeBron’s first Finals game.

Game 2, 2007 NBA Finals: LeBron bounces back but falls down 0-2.

Game 3, 2007 NBA Finals: LeBron gets the last shot but it doesn’t go.

Game 4, 2007 NBA Finals: Staying home.

Game 1, 2011 NBA Finals: LeBron’s first Finals victory.

For the first time in his Finals career, LeBron James has a series lead after winning Game 1 against the Dallas Mavericks. LeBron is saying all of the right things that the series was far from over. The broadcast begins with copious amounts of LMFAO and a shot of the rowdy Heat crowd, which during the peak Heat days was just as good as Oracle on its best day.

“Feels good because it’s the first game and we played well as a team,” James said after Game 1, according to the Associated Press. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. … That’s one in the books. We’re excited about this game. Tomorrow we prepare for Game 2, and I see ways we can get better.”

And despite LeBron going 4 for 5 from the 3 in Game 1, or perhaps because of it, anybody guarding James when he’s away from the ball is hanging hard in the paint. But a few plays later, James makes the Mavs pay for that off-ball coverage.

Doris Burke is giving us an update on Dirk Nowitzki trying out various splints the night before Game 2 with his legendary shooting coach Holder Geschwinder. Also, Rolando Blackmon is on the Mavs bench, eliciting some MAJOR Remember Some Guys energy from Mike Breen. Bosh goes to work on Peja and its a 10-1 Heat run. Then LeBron flies in for another emphatic slam on a rebound, reminiscent of the slams he had to close Game 1. Then LeBron hits another big 3-pointer. This series feels like it’s his time. But the Mavs remain right there, tied at 28 after the first quarter 

The Heat look dominant but the Mavs are just doing their jobs across the board in a way the Heat are not. James steps up with an And-1 to get the fans going, but he can’t make the free-throw. The Heat get another stop, a 24-second call on Dallas. Then a 3-pointer from Wade ties it at 51 with under 30 seconds left to cap another 9-0 Heat run going into halftime. Wade is the leading scorer for the Heat tonight as he finished with 36 points. 

It’s the third quarter and the Heat lead 66-61 and the Mavs turn to…Brian Cardinal! He’s played 7 minutes so far this postseason and doesn’t do much of note in this game, but he will be important later. Meanwhile, Mike Bibby just hit his 4th 3-pointer! His best game of the playoffs and it comes at a crucial juncture as he finished with 14 points. It’s 69-61 Heat. A Dirk jumper over a fallen Udonis Haslem gives the Mavs some more life.

A Chandler tip makes it 71-67. The lessons of Brandon Roy remain, even though Dirk is 6 for 15. Then LeBron comes through with another slam, pushing the Heat to a 75-71 lead going into the 4th. A Chalmers lay-up pushes the lead to 79-73, however, and maybe the Heat can break this game open? A Bosh dunk makes it 83-73, Dirk turns it over as his awful night continues. A Wade corner 3-pointer makes it 88-73 with 7:14 left to cap a 13-0 run. Mike Breen feels like this game is over and there’s just nothing the poor Mavs can do against the mighty Heat. 

About five minutes before this, I had finally made it to my room in Spain at 6-ish in the morning and fired up First Row Sports. I don’t even think I had showered just yet after going to the bars with friends, but I wanted to watch the end of the game.

The Mavs have started the quarter missing 10 of their first 11 shots and committing five turnovers. The clock is down to 6:21 before Jason Terry breaks the Mavs spell to make it 88-75. As Van Gundy points out, the Mavs also had a great comeback of their own against Oklahoma City only about 10 days earlier, coming back from a 15-point lead to force overtime and eventually win Game 4 in the Western Conference Finals.

At that time, it had been the greatest comeback in NBA history. 15-point leads aren’t daunting in 2020, but what the Mavs were doing in 2011 was something the league hadn’t seen yet. They’d have to repeat that feat. They not only repeated it, but they also did it one better.

The Heat are having trouble scoring because the Mavs are finally taking care of the ball, not letting LeBron and Wade get in transition. A runner by Marion makes it 88-81 and the Mavs are over halfway there in two minutes. Then Jason Kidd hits a 3 on the assist from Dirk. LeBron can’t get past Marion and settles for a midrange shot that clanks. Then Jason Terry hits a free-throw line extended jumper, continuing to spur this run. Then Bosh dribbles it out of bounds. Dirk from 20 feet. It’s 90-88. The Miami crowd is trying to will them but their cheers are more cautious than energetic. They know this is slipping away.

A block by LeBron on Dirk gives them a little life but their offense doesn’t have enough speed. They continue to be bogged down while watching Wade and James shoot jumpers. The Mavs have a wall around the paint and the Heat can’t get through. They get a couple of second chances on the same possession thanks to hustling from Bosh and Haslem, but it leads to a loose ball and, either their spirits or the bodies of the Heat were too tired to get back in transition, Dirk gets his easiest look of the night to tie it at 90. The raucous Heat crowd is so dead not even a bump of good Peruvian would get them going.

Wade misses a 3, another possessions with no penetration. And then the coup de grace de Dirk, a 3-pointer to make it 93-90. Miami is no longer a house of horrors for the German. But then Mario Chalmers, who has the stones to hit big shots as evidenced by his 2008 National Championship game-winner, answers Dirk! Jason Terry left him too early and LeBron exposes it. 93-93! Alaskan, in this case, is a wonderful stand-in for Peruvian.

24.5 seconds remain. The Mavs can take the last shot. Jason Kidd runs the clock down to go to their pet set during this run: Jason Terry screening Dirk so that Dirk can get the ball on the move against Chris bosh. Dirk uses the threat of his shot to hesitate, fake the turnaround and then drive to the rim with less than four seconds to play as the Heat don’t have any timeout. Wade misses a running 3-pointer and the Mavs capped the comeback.

Dirk, after an awful night, scores the final 9 points to finish with 24 points and for all of the great plays, the Heat blew a game that they should have had. LeBron fished with 20 points, eight rebounds, and four assists but was overshadowed on this night by Wade. The narrative is back. The Heat can’t finish. Wade and LeBron don’t work together. And now the series turns to Dallas, where the Mavs can fully take momentum in a series where they are the underdogs.