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.
