Dirk Shows His Maturity

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Mavericks have asserted their athletic and defensive superiority. They have won the first two games of this series by a total of 24 points.

Imagine what will happen when Dirk Nowitzki has a breakout offensive game.

It's not that his 26 points is anything to sneeze at. Consider this from Miami's perspective. It will take Heat center Shaquille O'Neal six games to score that many points if he continues at Sunday's pace.

There aren't six games left in the Finals.

There won't be more than two games if the Heat doesn't find a pulse.

Nowitzki is the Mavericks' pulse. He led the team in scoring and in rebounding with 16. It was the sixth time in this playoff run that the All-Star forward has grabbed at least 15 rebounds.

The Mavericks have come to rely on this sort of performance. But Game 2 wasn't about Nowitzki overwhelming Miami. It was about his maturation and evolution as a star.

It was about him trusting his teammates, something coach Avery Johnson has preached from day one.

"I know that our team is good and that we can all make plays and make shots," Nowitzki said. "If they stay with me on pick-and-rolls the way they do, our other players have to step up and play well and make plays.

"We had a lot of guys in double figures, and that's how we have to attack if we want to win."

Ten of Nowitzki's points came in the final period when the outcome had long been decided. For most of this game, he was more efficient than dominant. He finished with as many rebounds as he did shot attempts.

That's the sign of a player who has expanded his game. That's the sign of a player who's confident enough to let the game come to him rather than force the issue.

The nerves that rattled Nowitzki to open the series were gone. Miami's defense wasn't. The Heat fronted Nowitzki when he tried to catch the ball in the post. Miami got up in his chest on the perimeter and ran a second defender at him from the blind side when he put the ball on the floor to make his move.

Nowitzki was frustrated at times Sunday evening. But he never became flustered. There's a big difference.

And that's one of the biggest differences in Nowitzki. He was patient. When his outside jumper misfired, he didn't hang around the perimeter and wait to shoot his way out of it. When the defense kept him from getting position down low, he moved to catch the ball on the run.

That's something O'Neal didn't do.

"They were very physical," Nowitzki said of forwards Udonis Haslem and James Posey. "Basically, they did the same thing they did in Game 1.

"I caught the ball a little more on the move, which is better. When I catch the ball standing, they are going to box-up.

"Out of movement, I'm a better player anyway instead of just holding it and playing one-on-one."

Nowitzki did force a few, off-balance jumpers early. The first time he touched the ball, he spun so quick to avoid the double-team that the ball flew out of bounds for a turnover.

"That was not the start I was looking for," Nowitzki said. </div>

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