Two quarters through Game 2 of the 2011 NBA Finals between the [Miami Heat](https://heatnation.com/) and [Dallas Mavericks](https://ahnfiredigital.com/category/nba/dallas-mavericks/), Miami was staring at a golden opportunity to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the championship series. The Heat were already up 1-0, and Game 2 — another home game for Miami — was knotted up at 51 points apiece at the halftime break.
With the Heat two good quarters away from going up 2-0, Miami’s team president Pat Riley apparently started “talking s—” at halftime, according to Mavs minority owner (and then-majority owner) Mark Cuban.
> “At halftime of that game…back then in the Heat’s arena, you walk up center court, and you make a left to go to the visitor’s locker room,” Cuban said. “And Pat Riley was there, and Pat Riley goes to me, ‘We’re too long and too quick for you guys, Mark.’
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> “This is the second game, second game of the series. Pat talking s—. I’m like, ‘Okay, whatever, Pat,’ right? And then they go up 15, and I’m thinking, ‘Maybe he’s right,’ and then everything changed.”
It’s safe to claim that Riley’s trash-talk aged like milk, as the Mavericks stole victory from the jaws of defeat in Game 2. With just over seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the Heat were up 15, and the final outcome of the contest already seemed decided. However, from that point on, the Mavericks outscored the Heat 22-5 and won the game by a final score of 95-93.
The Mavericks then rode their momentum from that come-from-behind victory to come out on top in the series in six games, and it’s probably not talked about enough just how important that Game 2 win was to their title hopes. Teams that fall into 0-2 holes in the NBA Finals don’t come back to win the series very often.
Dallas’ title in 2011 marked the team’s first in franchise history, and it’s the only championship the organization has won to this day. The Mavericks made a surprise run to the NBA Finals not all that long ago in 2024 led by a dynamic backcourt of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, but they’re seemingly far away from competing for a title again anytime soon.
At 5-14, they own the second-worst record in the Western Conference so far in the 2025-26 season.
While the first year of the Big 3 era in Miami didn’t yield a championship, the Heat ended up repeating as champions in 2012 and 2013, so fans of the team shouldn’t be too bitter about that Finals loss in 2011 more than a decade later.