Revenge-minded nowitzki heads to south beach

[Betfair]

At the time of this writing, the board is Dallas Mavericks +4.5 (2, Even) and Miami Heat -2.5 (1.96, -104)

Mavericks are 19-6-1 ATS as a road underdog

Heat are 10-22 ATS when playing on three or more days of rest.

Dallas has reached its final step in reaching the NBA Finals and will be looking to exact revenge from a heartbreaking 2006 series that saw the franchise blow a 2-0 lead to Miami. The Mavericks return to the Finals with some familiar faces, none bigger than All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki, who stayed in Dallas as long as owner Marc Cuban would do what it takes to give him another shot at a ring. "Ultimately, that's where my heart was at. I almost felt like we had unfinished business after '06," Nowitzki commented. "All I needed was reassurance that he was going to keep going and keep building around this team." The team has gone through Portland, defending champion Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City to get to this point. Dallas is 32-16 ATS on the road this season.

The Mavericks are appearing in the NBA Finals for the second time, but will not have the luxury of homecourt advantage like it did in 2006. Dallas has dominated Miami during the regular season, winning 14 straight regular season meetings, including 17 of the last 18. In its only trip to South Beach this year, the squad came away with a 98-96 win and Nowitzki pacing the club with a game-high 26 points. Dallas enters Tuesday's contest with a 12-3 record in the postseason, which is identical to its opponent, but has also managed to win 10 of 11. The Mavericks know it's absolutely critical to capture Game 1 in this series, posting a 6-3 all-time mark in best-of-seven playoff series when winning, compared to 5-10 when dropping the opening contest. It's not shocking to find the team winning opening games in all three of its series thus far.

Continued: Basketball Picks