Stack, not Shaq, attack: Mavs dominant in Big D

DALLAS (AP) -- The Dallas Mavericks were bracing for a Shaq attack. Instead, they broke open Game 2 of the NBA finals with a Stack attack.
In a span of 79 seconds, Jerry Stackhouse single-handedly turned a close game into a rout, putting together a 10-0 run with a rare 4-point play and two other 3-pointers to close out the first half.
Stackhouse's flurry sent the home crowd into a frenzy, the Miami Heat into the locker room with slumped shoulders -- and, ultimately, propelled the Mavericks to a 99-85 victory Sunday night and 2-0 series lead.
Stackhouse finished with 19 points, outscoring the entire Miami bench by himself for the second straight game.
But it was a terrific 1 minute, 19 seconds that mattered most.
Stackhouse's burst was a quickie version of the playground game "Around the World." There was a 3 from the left corner, and another from the top of the key. The capper came from the right side, inches from the Dallas bench.
Something extra
Best of all, each play featured a little something extra.
On the first, Stackhouse was hanging out in the corner when Jason Terry missed a long jumper and Adrian Griffin grabbed the offensive rebound. He got the ball to Dirk Nowitzki, winner of the 3-point contest at the All-Star game, but Nowitzki saw how open Stackhouse was.
Swish!
After Dwyane Wade was caught palming the ball, the Mavs were working the ball around when Nowitzki again got it to Stackhouse behind the arc. Wade ran into Stackhouse as he shot it, knocking the veteran down.
From his back, Stackhouse saw the ball go through -- and heard the referees whistle Wade for a foul.
With the crowd going wild, Stackhouse made the free throw for only the seventh 4-point play in finals history.
When Udonis Haslem threw a pass out of bounds with 27 seconds left, the Mavericks had two objective: Use up as much of the clock as possible and, of course, try scoring again.
Point guard Devin Harris took care of the first part. And you can guess who he went to for the rest.
Standing right about the point where the 3-point line goes from a straight line to an arc, Stackhouse put the ball up just before the shot clock expired. He again was on the ground when it went through, but there was no foul.
Just a 16-point halftime lead.
Previous highlight
Until now, the proudest moment in Dallas' NBA playoff history may have come in 1988, when the Mavericks took the Los Angeles Lakers to seven games in an epic Western Conference finals.
And Pat Riley remembers it vividly.
Riley coached the Los Angeles team that ousted the Mavericks that season, and his Lakers went on to win the NBA championship -- the last time the current Miami Heat coach won the title.
Now, with another championship on the line, Riley is again in Dallas' way.
"I remember the years when they probably had one of the best offenses in the NBA," Riley said before Sunday's game. "And then they went through a period of time that I think a lot of franchises go through in change and culture, but over the last six years, the formula has been right."