2006 NBA Finals Comeback from 3-2 Deficit

Lore & Background

The Mavericks were heavy favorites to win the championship over the Heat. Despite these odds, the Heat pulled off the upset, becoming the third team—after the 1969 Celtics, the 1977 Trail Blazers and later the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2021 Milwaukee Bucks—to win a championship after trailing 0–2 in the series. Dwyane Wade of the Heat was named Most Valuable Player of the series. For the first time since 1971, the series featured two teams that had never previously appeared in the Finals; and it was the first Finals since 1978 where neither team had previously won an NBA title. As of 2026, this is the last NBA Finals between teams that have never previously won a championship before.

In Their Own Story

The air inside the American Airlines Center was thick with tension, smelling of popcorn and sweat. The Dallas crowd roared, confident their lead was insurmountable after Game 3's humiliation. Then, Wade drove baseline, drawing two defenders before kicking it out to a corner shooter who hadn't made a three all series. Swish. The silence that followed the net snapping was louder than any cheer. Shaq grabbed the rebound with a roar, his eyes locking onto the opposing big man. In this moment, the script flipped; the underdogs were no longer fighting for survival but hunting for history.

Reader's Guide

The Heat became the second team since 1985 to sweep the middle three games at home, the 2004 Detroit Pistons being the first. In 1985 the NBA switched the Finals to the 2-3-2 format, which was changed back to the 2-2-1-1-1 format for the 2014 NBA Finals. Game 1: Dallas's Jason Terry scored a playoff-high 32 points as the Mavericks overcame a 31–23 deficit at the end of the first quarter. Game 2: Dirk Nowitzki had a stellar 30-point and 12-rebound performance, and the Mavericks cruised to a 2–0 series lead. Game 3: Led by Dwyane Wade's 42 points and 13 rebounds, the Heat rallied from a 13-point deficit with six minutes to go in the fourth quarter. The momentum-changing comeback was capped by a Gary Payton field goal from just inside the three-point line with 9.3 seconds left. Dirk Nowitzki had a chance to tie the game at the free throw line with 3.4 seconds to go, but missed 1 of 2, sealing the win for Miami. Game 4: Dwyane Wade shined again for the Heat with 36 points, and Miami held Dallas to just seven points in the fourth quarter en route to a series-tying, blowout victory. The Mavericks' fourth quarter was the lowest ever by any team during the NBA Finals. Jerry Stackhouse committed a flagrant foul that resulted in his suspension for Game 5. Game 5: Dwyane Wade shot 25 free throws—as many as all the Mavericks combined, leading the Heat to their third straight win. With 9.1 seconds left in overtime and the Heat trailing by 1 point, they inbounded the ball to Wade, who caught the ball in the air and then landed in the backcourt. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban felt Wade had therefore committed a backcourt violation after receiving the ball. Dallas was then penalized with a controversial foul call that sent Wade to the line to shoot the go-ahead free throws with 1.9 seconds left. Wade hit the first free throw, and Dallas coach Avery Johnson signaled to his team to call a timeout after Wade's second attempt. Josh Howard then made a timeout gesture with his hands and began to walk off the floor, and the referees called the Mavericks' last remaining timeout, which prevented them from advancing the ball after the second attempt if Wade converted. After the timeout, Wade made the second free throw to give his team a one-point lead, after which Devin Harris missed a half-court shot as time expired. Wade finished the game with 43 points while setting an NBA Finals reco

Did You Know?

• The Heat overcame a two-games-to-none series deficit to defeat the Mavericks in six games, winning their first NBA championship in franchise history.
• Dwyane Wade of the Heat was named Most Valuable Player of the series.
• This was the second NBA Finals match-up of teams from Florida and Texas, after the Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic contested the 1995 NBA Finals.
• Shaquille O'Neal and Gary Payton became the 6th and 7th players to play in the NBA Finals for three different teams.
• O'Neal and Alonzo Mourning achieved the rare feat of being the former first-round picks from the same year (1992) to win a championship with the same team.