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25 Greatest Performances In NBA Finals History

By Bill Speros

PHILADELPHIA, PA - May 16: Earvin Magic Johnson #32 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates with team owner Jerry Buss after they defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1980 NBA finals 4 games to 2 on May 16, 1980 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Johnson played for the Lakers from 1979 - 91, 96. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - May 16: Earvin Magic Johnson #32 of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates with team owner Jerry Buss after they defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1980 NBA finals 4 games to 2 on May 16, 1980 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Johnson played for the Lakers from 1979 - 91, 96. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /
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MIAMI – JUNE 13: Dwyane Wade #3 of the Miami Heat goes up for a shot over Jerry Stackhouse #42 of the Dallas Mavericks in the third quarter of game three of the 2006 NBA Finals on June 13, 2006 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
MIAMI – JUNE 13: Dwyane Wade #3 of the Miami Heat goes up for a shot over Jerry Stackhouse #42 of the Dallas Mavericks in the third quarter of game three of the 2006 NBA Finals on June 13, 2006 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

18. Dwyane Wade, Miami vs. Dallas, Game 3 (2006)

Mark Cuban was likely pondering which $10,000 cigar he was planning to ignite once the Mavericks won their first NBA title 10 years ago next month. Dallas led Miami by 13 points in the fourth quarter of Game 3 and held a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.

Many of the South Beach faithful began to bail, turning their white towels into white flags. Not so fast. The pride of Marquette University, Dwyane Wade wasn’t about to quit even if the rest of his team had already began making vacation reservations and tee times.

Wade ignored Dallas’ defense and launched a full-on assault of the basket, scoring 15 points of his game-high 43 points in fourth quarter. Even more impressive, he played the final 11 minutes with five fouls. His offense burst pushed the game into overtime and woke up his teammates.

Miami won 98-96 after Wade tipped an inbounds pass as Dallas tried to set up a final shot. Series MVP Wade averaged 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.7 steals per game to lead the Miami Heat to their first NBA championship.

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