Heat win championship

Finals MVP Dwayne Wade scored 36 points to lead the Heat, a team of veterans who recovered from a 0-2 deficit to sweep the next four games against a Dallas squad whose confidence evaporated with each loss.

Udonis Haslem added 17 points for the Heat, who won despite hitting just two of 18 from beyond the arc. Dirk Nowitzki paced Dallas with 29 points and 15 rebounds.

A 17-foot jump shot by Josh Howard with 42 seconds left in the game pulled the Mavericks to within a point at 91-90, but Wade hit four straight free throws to push the Heat lead to 95-90 with 17.7 seconds remaining.

Two free throws by Howard trimmed the lead to 95-92 before two missed free throws by Wade with 10.3 seconds remaining gave Dallas its last ray of hope.

But a potentially game-tying 27-footer by guard Jason Terry rimmed out, giving the Heat their first title and igniting a midcourt celebration.

The 18-year-old Heat franchise has often had outstanding records during the regular season but fallen flat in the postseason either due to poor play or running into title-bound teams like the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls of the 1990s.

Dallas crushed Miami in the first two games of the NBA Finals in Texas and it appeared the Heat was reverting to their habit of postseason collapses.

But the Heat caught fire and gained confidence in Miami, winning all three games inspired by the stellar play of Wade who averaged 40 points.

The loss ended a bad day for Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who was fined $250,000 by the NBA for a post-game outburst at officials following his team's Game Five loss.

Dallas opened the game with renewed vigor following their collapse in Miami, using a 16-4 first quarter run to assume a 26-12 lead and get the boisterous sold-out crowd on its feet.

Wade, however, started to find his range midway through the second quarter to key an 18-4 streak and give Miami a 49 46 lead just before intermission.

A lay-up by Nowitzki with a second remaining in the opening half trimmed Miami's lead to 49-48 but the Heat's confidence began to grow on a court where they had not won on since 2002.

Wade had 12 of his 19 halftime points in the second quarter, often duelling Nowitzki basket-for-basket. Nowitzki, looking to regain his scoring touch that had evaporated in Miami, had 17 points by halftime on eight of 12 shooting.

Miami threatened to blow the game open when a jam by Alonzo Mourning gave the Heat a 68-59 lead with just under two minutes left in the third quarter.

But guard Marquis Daniels scored six points during a 9-3 Dallas spurt to close the quarter and cut the Mavericks' deficit to 71-68 entering the final 12 minutes.