Dallas coach asks one more chance

DALLAS – Coach Avery Johnson said the other day it was painful to lose to Miami in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals after a 2-0 series lead but promised the Dallas Mavericks will be back next season ready for another crack at the championship.

"This is going to hurt this summer," said Johnson. "I hope it makes them work that much harder and me a better coach because I’m willing to try again."

Johnson, 41, faced the press shortly after the Heat clinched the title in Game 6 here Tuesday night and displayed none of the swagger that characterized his behavior since the start of the best-of-7 title playoffs.

Only the day before, Johnson harangued a reporter who asked a fair question during a press conference. Johnson was hot under the collar because Dallas had just lost a 101-100 overtime decision in Game 5 and took his frustrations out on the stunned reporter whom he embarrassed in public. It was conduct unbecoming of an NBA coach.

Johnson took team owner Mark Cuban’s cue to question the league’s impartiality and wondered why the officials appeared to favor Miami in close calls. Cuban was fined $250,000 by the NBA for his tirades before Game 6 but Johnson was spared.

Humbled by the defeat, Johnson was a changed man at the end of the series. He showed class in congratulating the Heat.

"Miami deserved to win," said Johnson. "They had an incredible year. When the season started, I don’t think anybody picked Dallas and Miami to be in the Finals. So take your hats off to them. We’ve had a lot of highs and lows. You’ve seen me at my best and at my worst in this series. It’s no excuses. We’ll come back."

Johnson, whose clutch jumper lifted the San Antonio Spurs to victory in the Game 5 clincher over New York in the 1999 Finals, seemed to be in shock at the turn of events. Dallas raced to a 2-0 series lead and had two chances to clinch at home where Miami hadn’t won in four years. The Mavs let the title slip through their fingers.

Dallas could’ve erected a commanding 3-0 lead if only the Mavs’ 13-point lead with 6 1/2 minutes to go held up in Game 3. And in Game 5, they were ahead with only seconds left in both regulation and overtime in Game 5. Game 3 or 5 could’ve gone either way and Dallas would’ve closed it out in five if the Mavs won both.

Miami, however, was more poised in the clutch because of the Heat’s more experienced players and someone who brought back memories of Michael Jordan in his prime – Dwyane Wade.

Johnson said he’d like to keep his nucleus intact for next season.

"We’ve fought a lot of adversity," said Johnson. "We’ve had a guy suspended, Mark’s gotten fined. We’ve had a lot of different things that happened throughout the Finals. But our guys, they’re fighters. I don’t think you can be soft and try to fight through a lot of the stuff we did. We had a chance to win Game 3 but came up short. Had a chance to really win Game 5 without (Jerry) Stackhouse and a chance to win Game 6. But the ball didn’t bounce our way, no excuses."

Johnson said the Finals’ turning point was Game 3.

"We were up 13 and didn’t put a finish on it," he continued. "Normally, we play really well in the fourth quarter. If we had won Game 3, we would be playing a Game 7, had we lost three games. It will be something that we will go back and look at. But I go down with my guys. I’ll try to get better this summer. They will try to get better. We’ve had an incredible year.

"I am just so proud of our team. I told them how much I love them, through thick and thin. I loved them during the 13-game winning streak, the three-game losing streak in the regular season and this four-game losing streak. I told them that I loved them. I think we’ve made a lot of progress this year. We got knocked out in the first round two years ago, second round last year. We aimed high this year and I told them that a lot of teams have to go through this."

Johnson said playing the Finals was a learning experience. He took over from Don Nelson as Dallas coach when the Mavs were 42-22 last season and piloted the team to a 16-2 windup. Then, Johnson led Dallas to the playoffs where the Mavs were eliminated by Phoenix in six in the Western Conference semifinals.

"We came up short," he sighed. "We know they don’t give any awards for coming in second but we’ve provided an awful lot for the whole city of Dallas and our families and fans. We don’t have anything to be ashamed of."

Dallas posted a 60-22 record, 34-7 at home, this past regular season. The Mavs went on to sweep Memphis, 4-0, in the first round of the playoffs, dethroned San Antonio, 4-3, in the second round and ousted Phoenix, 4-2, in the third. Dallas closed out the three series each on the road. Ironically, the Mavs were closed out in the Finals by Miami at home.