Hot, Hot Heat

In hostile territory deep in the heart of Texas, the Miami Heat was outnumbered, surrounded and facing an ornery opponent.

Of course, it did have Dwyane Wade.

The All-Star guard rode to the rescue repeatedly in the NBA Finals and capped his MVP performance with 36 points Tuesday night as the Heat clinched its first title with a 95-92 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.

Wade also had 10 rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocked shots as the Heat completed a stunning turnaround, winning four in a row after dropping the first two games in the Mavericks’ arena.

The Heat became only the third team to overcome a 2-0 deficit in the 60-year history of the Finals, which probably surprised many in the Dallas media, who wrote that the Heat wasn’t in the Mavericks’ class after the first two games.

Things, however, changed quickly around these parts, and Wade was the Heat’s main difference-maker.

“An article that was written, I won’t say who it was written by, but [the headline read], ‘Unworthy Opponents,’ Wade said. “We were unworthy to be playing against them after one game? That blew my mind. It blew our team’s mind.

“I kept that in mind. Still got that article.”

Miami rebounded in the series behind Wade (he averaged 34.7 points in the Finals) on its home court, joining the 2004 Detroit Pistons as the only teams to sweep the middle three games since the league adopted a 2-3-2 Finals format in 1985.

Then the Eastern Conference champions delivered some Texas-sized heartbreak to many in a sellout crowd of 20,522, outlasting the Western Conference’s top team, which had hoped to force a decisive Game 7 on Thursday here.

Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki did what he could to make it happen, scoring 29 and grabbing 15 rebounds. Sixth man Jerry Stackhouse, suspended for Game 5, provided an emotional lift off the bench and scored 12 points. The Mavericks also got a boost from the little-used Marquis Daniels, who scored 12 points in 18 minutes.

But the Mavericks shot only 37% from the field, compared to 44.9% for Miami. The Heat went on a 13-0 run late in the second quarter that silenced the crowd, and the Mavericks never appeared comfortable after that point.

Forward Udonis Haslem had a big game with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and backup center Alonzo Mourning’s five blocked shots set the tone on defense.

“They made some great adjustments,” Nowitzki said. “Once they got back home, they were great.”

It seemed only fitting that the ball would find Wade at the end, the third-year player grabbing the final rebound after Dallas guard Jason Terry missed a 25-foot three-point shot with 2.9 seconds to play.

Wade tossed the ball high into the air, igniting a celebration that probably won’t end anytime soon at South Beach.

Miami Coach Pat Riley has strong Los Angeles ties, having won six titles with the Lakers as a player, assistant coach and coach.

Riley, the Heat president, returned to the sideline Dec. 12, 2005, when Stan Van Gundy resigned for personal reasons.

The other major player with strong L.A. ties, center Shaquille O’Neal (nine points, 12 rebounds) was able to make good on the title he promised to bring to Miami on his trade from the Lakers. These days, the three-time Finals MVP is playing the sidekick role to the player nicknamed “Flash,” and that’s fine with O’Neal.

“I made that promise because of D-Wade. I knew he was a special player,” said O’Neal, who led the Lakers to three titles. “When I was making my transition from L.A., there were only two places I wanted to go -- one place in the Western Conference and Miami.

“I wanted to come to Miami because of D-Wade. I know that being on a championship-caliber team, you need a good 1-2 punch, and he’s a great, great player.... He’s had my back all year, he’s one of the best players ever, and I knew we would win. I’ve been dreaming of this since I left L.A.”

The Mavericks never recovered after Game 3, in large part because of Wade.

“Some of that stuff, you just can’t teach,” Dallas Coach Avery Johnson said. “When a player is making those kind of plays ... he’s beating double-teams, he’s beating triple-teams. He had a lot of will to win.”

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The series

DALLAS VS. MIAMI

Heat wins series, 4-2.

GAME 1: at Dallas 90, Miami 80

GAME 2: at Dallas 99, Miami 85

GAME 3: at Miami 98, Dallas 96

GAME 4: at Miami 98, Dallas 74

GAME 5: at Miami 101, Dallas 100 (OT)

GAME 6: Miami 95, at Dallas 92