LeBron James does Dirk Nowitzki shot to beat Mavericks (Video)
LeBron James used Dirk Nowitzki’s signature move to perfection to beat the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night.
The Miami Heat were leading the Mavs 100-97 with under three minutes left in the game when Dirk Nowitzki made a jumper to make it a 1-point game. LeBron answered by making a shot using Dirk’s one-legged fadeaway jumper to put the Heat back up 102-99. That was the backbreaker, as the Heat extended the lead to 108-99 before eventually winning 110-104.
You can see LeBron do the Dirk move at the 1:05 mark in this highlight video:
LeBron finished with 39 points on 14-for-18 shooting. He went 10-for-11 at the line to seal the game. Dirk had a solid game as well, going for 28 points on 8-for-12 shooting.
LeBron explained his Dirk shot.
“It was a show of respect. I have a lot of respect for Dirk,” LeBron said after the game, per Bleacher Report’s Ethan J. Skolnick.
I don’t know if that means LeBron did it intentionally because of Dirk, or just because the move fit at the time, but that was awesome.