MIAMI -- From the moment the Mavericks’ 2018-19 schedule was released last August, Dirk Nowitzki fans expressed annoyance that the season finale - and potentially Nowitzki’s career-ending game - is on the road.
Specifically, San Antonio.
Whether by design or happenstance, though, the Mavericks’ season-closing road map is dotted with emotion-evoking stops for Nowitzki.
None more so than Thursday night’s venue: Miami’s American Airlines Arena, scene of Nowitzki’s and the Mavericks’ greatest triumph, but also their most devastating downfall.
“Obviously,” Nowitzki said, “the two finals.”
He’s referring, of course, to the 2006 and 2011 NBA finals, the only two in the Mavericks’ 39-year history.