I was watching Game 4 of the NBA Western Conference Finals last night and I saw greatness. Oklahoma City was leading by 15 points in the 4th quarter when Dirk Nowitzki took matters into his own hands. He scored 12 points in the 4th quarter, including multiple crazy off-balance shots and 2 free throws with 6.4 seconds left that tied the game and took it into overtime. In overtime, they overpowered OKC and won the game. They went from a potentially tied 2-2 series to leading the series 3-1 and are basically a lock to play in the NBA Finals
Check out the highlights from the game:
And Dirk's contributions:
So Dirk Nowitzki won the game for the Dallas Mavericks. What's so great about that?
Now watch this (sorry about the video quality)
He practiced all of those off-balance shots. If you look at the highlights from the end of the game, Nick Collison defended Dirk as if his life depended on it. Yet nearly every off-balance shot that Dirk took late in the game went it. Even with all the pressure of making a comeback late in an away playoff game, his shots were falling because he anticipated them going in - he took so many of those ridiculous shots in practice that shooting them became normal! That's greatness. Hats off to Dirk and his shooting coach Holger Geschwindner.
