Who Won the 2011 NBA Championship?

The Dallas Mavericks won the 2011 NBA Championship by defeating the Miami Heat in six games.

The Mavericks

The Mavericks won the 2011 NBA Championship against the Miami Heat. This was a huge accomplishment for the Mavericks, and it was a great moment for the city of Dallas.

The Team

The Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. The Mavericks play their home games at the American Airlines Center.

The Mavericks were founded in 1980 as an expansion team, and compiled a league-worst 13–69 record during their inaugural season. In their second season, they won 15 games and finished with a winning percentage of .438, which was an NBA record for a expansion team’s second year in the league. In their third season, they posted a then-NBA best 53–29 record. From 1987 to 1990, the Mavericks won 50 or more games in each season, but failed to make the playoffs each year due to poor playoff performances by those teams; they only made one appearance during that span (1988). For the 1990–91 season, the Mavericks finished with a 36–46 record and missed the playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons since joining the NBA.

The Season

The Mavericks posted a record of 57 wins and 25 losses, finishing first in the Southwest Division and second in the Western Conference behind the eventual conference champion Los Angeles Lakers. They entered the playoffs as the third seed in the West. The Mavericks defeated Portland in the first round of the playoffs, sweeping them aside in four games. They then outlasted reigning champion Los Angeles Lakers in a thrilling seven-game series to win their first Conference Championship and advance to the NBA Finals for just the second time in franchise history. The Mavericks took on the Miami Heat, led by reigning NBA MVP LeBron James, in the Finals. In a back-and-forth series, Dallas emerged victorious, winning their first ever NBA Championship by a score of 4 games to 2.

The Playoffs

The Mavericks went on to face the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Mavericks took Game 1 in L.A. In Game 2, the Lakers evened the series with a nine-point victory. The series shifted to Dallas for the next two games. The Mavericks responded with two dominant performances, winning by a combined 52 points to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Lakers bounced back with a win in Game 5, but the Mavericks closed out the series in six games.

The Mavericks then met the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. The Thunder had upset the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the previous round. The Mavericks took Game 1 at home, but the Thunder evened the series with a win in Game 2. The series shifted to Oklahoma City for Games 3 and 4. The Thunder won both games to take a 3-1 lead in the series. But the Mavericks responded with two wins of their own, winning Game 5 in Dallas and Game 6 in Oklahoma City to force a seventh and final game. In Game 7, the Mavericks clinched a spot in the NBA Finals with a 112-105 victory over the Thunder.

The Heat

The Miami Heat won the 2011 NBA Championship after defeating the Dallas Mavericks in six games. This was the Heat’s second NBA Championship in franchise history.

The Team

The team that won the 2011 NBA Championship was the Dallas Mavericks. They beat the Miami Heat in six games. The Mavericks were led by their star player, Dirk Nowitzki. He was named the Finals MVP.

The Season

The regular season began on December 25, 2010, and ended on April 13, 2011. The playoffs started on April 16, 2011, and ended on June 12, 2011, with the Dallas Mavericks defeating the Miami Heat in six games to win their first NBA championship.

The Playoffs

The playoffs are a best-of-seven elimination tournament among the eight teams that qualified for the playoffs, seeded according to their regular-season records. The team with the better record has home court advantage, which means they can host up to four of the seven games. The first two rounds of the playoffs are played within each conference, as follows:

In the First Round, the three division winners and the team with the best record that did not win a division play against each other in best-of-seven series. The seedings are based on regular season records.
The First Round losers face each other in a best-of-seven series; this is commonly referred to as the NBA’s version of the “play-in” tournament, where these two teams battle for the final playoff spot in their respective conferences.
The Conference Semifinals (also referred to as just “the Semifinals”) pit the Conference First Round winners against each other in best-of-seven series.
The Conference Finals (also referred to as just “the Finals”) pit the two remaining Conference Semifinal winners against each other in a best-of-seven series with potential employment at stake for all participants.

From there, it’s on to the NBA Finals, where the Eastern Conference Champion takes on the Western Conference Champion in another best-of-seven series. The first team to win four games in that final series is crowned champion of both conferences and wins the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy.

The Finals

The Miami Heat won the NBA championship in 2011. They defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals. The Mavericks were the defending champions, but the Heat won the series in six games.

Game 1

The Miami Heat took an early lead in the best of seven series with a 92-84 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1. The Mavericks regrouped to take Game 2, 95-93. After splitting the next two games in Dallas, the series shifted back to Miami for Game 5. The Mavericks built a 13-point lead in the first half, but the Heat came back to win 112-103 and take a 3-2 lead in the series.

The Mavericks bounced back with a convincing 117-101 victory in Game 6 to force a seventh and final game. The Heat took control early in Game 7 and never looked back, winning 105-95 to claim their second NBA Championship.

Game 2

The Miami Heat evened the series at 1-1 with a 106-85 win in Game 2. The Heat took control of the game with a strong third quarter, outscoring the Dallas Mavericks 33-15 in the period. Dwyane Wade led the way for the Heat, scoring 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Chris Bosh added 23 points and nine rebounds, and LeBron James had 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Jason Terry was the only Mavericks player in double figures, scoring 24 points off the bench. The Mavericks shot just 39 percent from the field as a team, while the Heat shot 50 percent.

Game 3

The Miami Heat evened the series at one game apiece with a 98–96 victory in Game 2. Chris Bosh scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Dwyane Wade added 24 points, including the game-winning jumper with 2.1 seconds left. LeBron James struggled with his shot, going 6-for-17 from the field, but still managed 19 points and 10 assists. Mario Chalmers scored 14 points and Udonis Haslem had 11 for the Heat, who held a 60–52 halftime lead before the Mavericks stormed back in the third quarter to take a 77–74 advantage heading into the final period.

Dirk Nowitzki led Dallas with 28 points and Shawn Marion had 21, but it wasn’t enough as the Mavericks fell to 0-2 at home in the Finals for the first time since falling behind 0-3 to Miami in 2006.

Jason Terry scored 15 points and J.J. Barea added 12 for Dallas, which will try to get back on track when the series shifts to Miami for Game 3 on Tuesday night.

Game 4

The Mavericks entered Game 4 with a 3–1 lead in the series. The Miami Heat won Game 4, 95–105. With the loss, the Mavericks failed to win back-to-back championships, and became the fourth team in NBA Finals history (after the 1966–67 Philadelphia 76ers, 1969–70 Los Angeles Lakers and 2007 San Antonio Spurs) to lose a Finals series despite holding a 3–1 lead. Wade scored 36 points and became the sixth player in NBA Finals history to record back-to-back 30+ point games in the same series. Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 27 points. Championship Ring ceremony was not held before Game 5 as is customary when one team wins the championship at home; this was due to financial concerns arising from the 2011 NBA lockout.

Game 5

The Mavericks played the decisive game 5 at home in front of a sellout crowd of 21,578. The Mavericks were looking to close out the series and win their first NBA championship, while the Heat were trying to extend the series and force a game 6 back in Miami.

The Mavericks started the game strong, with Dirk Nowitzki scoring 8 points in the first quarter. The Heat managed to keep it close, thanks to 12 points from Dwyane Wade. The Mavericks took a slim lead into the second quarter, where they continued to build on their lead. Jason Terry hit two 3-pointers and Nowitzki added 6 more points, as the Mavericks took a 54-44 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, the Heat began to chip away at the Mavericks’ lead. Wade scored 10 points and LeBron James added 8, as the Heat cut the Mavericks’ lead to 78-72 heading into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth battle, with neither team able to pull away. With under a minute to play and the Mavericks leading by 3 points, Wade hit a jump shot to tie the game at 90-90. With seconds remaining in regulation, Terry had a chance to win the game for the Mavericks, but his 3-point attempt was off the mark. The game went into overtime, where James took over for the Heat. James scored 6 points in overtime, including a clutch jumper with 18 seconds remaining, as the Heat won 103-100 to force a deciding game 6 back in Miami.

Game 6

The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in Game 6 of the 2011 NBA Finals to win their second consecutive championship. Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks was named Finals MVP.

Game 7

The Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to win the championship. The Mavericks led for much of the game, but the Heat came back to take the lead in the fourth quarter. With less than a minute to play, LeBron James made a clutch three-pointer to put the Heat up by two points. The Mavericks had a chance to tie the game, but they missed their shot and the Heat held on to win.