Who needs The Big 3 when you have The Big German?

Dirk driving to the hoop for the game-winning bucket in
Game 2 of the NBA Finals last night.

How do you shut up 19,600 all-white-donning, fair weather Miami Heat fans?

I have no idea, but Dirk Nowitzki sure does.

The Mavericks were left for dead in the fourth quarter of Game 2 last night, when Dirk again showed why he'll be enshrined in Springfield one day. Nowitzki, who scored his team's final nine points, abused Chris Bosh with a nasty spin move and drove to the hole for the game winning bucket with 3.6 seconds left, giving the Mavericks a stunning 95-93 comeback win in Miami.

I'm sure the Heat and its fans were planning their championship parade route during the fourth quarter after LeBron and Co. opened up a 15-point lead with 7:15 left. But Dirk, who dropped 24 points and 11 rebounds, rallied the troops for a remarkable comeback.

The 7-footer knocked down a jumper with 2:44 left, pulling the Mavs to within two points, 90-88. He then silenced the crowd with a 3-pointer with 57 seconds left, giving Dallas a 93-90 lead. After Mario Chalmers fired right back with a 3-pointer from the right corner, Dirk went all Mariano Rivera and closed out the game with his tremendous move around Bosh and left-handed layup.

I'm not going to lie, like most people watching last night, I said "it's over" when Miami opened up that 15-point advantage in the fourth. "It" being the game, but more importantly, the series as a whole. Miami hadn't lost a game on its home court all post-season and has thrived in crunch time in the fourth quarter. Last night would just be another step in a juggernaut's path to a title.

So much for that.

Despite the torn tendon in his left hand, Dirk capped off the stunning comeback. More importantly, he and the Mavs showed there is in fact a chink in the Heat's armor. Not only can they be beaten on their home floor, but LeBron, D-Wade and Bosh can't always be the cold-blooded, fourth quarter assassins they've looked like during these playoffs.

I firmly believe that last night's game was a 'Must Win' for the Mavericks. They desperately needed that game, and sure enough, Dirk delivered it for Big D. It didn't matter that they were getting blown out in the fourth quarter, there was no panic in this veteran laden team.

Seemingly everyone outside of Miami is either rooting for the Mavericks or against the Heat. As I wrote earlier this week, as the league's anti-LeBron, Dirk is quickly assuming folk hero status (for me at least). Last night only makes the Dirk/Mavs Kool Aid taste that much sweeter.

If LeBron has been the villain of the NBA this season, Dirk is surely now the overmatched, out-manned super hero. And just like in the movies and comic books, the good guy always finds a way to win.

Last night, that's exactly what Dirk did.