The Big Threes

Dallas won three in a row to claim the championship courtesy of it throng of three-point threats. DeShawn Stevenson and Jason Terry, fittingly made three apiece and the team tallied 11 to hold off the Heat and prevent a seventh game. For the Mavericks, three's not just company, it's the guest of honor, valued and distinguished. Considering the Mavs have two of the most successful shooters ever from long-range in Jason Kidd and Peja Stojakovic, there was a surprising source for the threes.

Stevenson's shooting from beyond the arc was beyond believable. He connected on 54% of his tries, hitting 13 in all. He only attempted one two-point field goal in the entire series, which he missed. Stevenson didn't just live at three-point line, he thrived. Kidd made 12 triples, while Stojakovic went 0-for and scored a whopping two points throughout the finals, relegated to watching from the bench in the last two games. Dallas didn't depend on the three, but it did some serious damage with them -- even "The Custodian" chipped in -- leaving Miami's Three Musketeers in tears.

Through three games, both Miami and Dallas were shooting the same percentage from long range, 38.3%. Up to that point, the Heat had actually made 5 more threes, but also attempted 13 additional ones. After that deadlock, Dallas was dominant, making 11 more threes than Miami in games four through six (28 to 17), while shooting just under 44%, compared to Miami's sub-30%. All these triples helped Dallas reach triple digits in games 5 and 6. The Mavs had threes fall, while the Heat went into a free-fall. Miami tried to counter by inserting three-point specialist Eddie House and starting Mario Chalmers in game six, but, despite the season being on the line, Chalmers was ineffective from behind the line (4-6 from outside in game 5, 2-7 in game 6).

What a long, strange trip it's been for the Mavericks. They couldn't have arrived at their desired destination without the triple. Dallas went the distance because they were much better than Miami from long distance.