The 'Fever Game' that changed Nowitzki's legacy

Dirk Nowitzki's NBA career of bests may be defined by a game in which he felt his worst.

The Würzburg-born German was a league MVP and a 14-time All-Star during his illustrious 21-year career with the Dallas Mavericks. But his legacy may look a lot different had he not lifted his lone NBA title in 2011.

That series was a highlight of the 2010s, with Dallas surprising the LeBron James-led Miami Heat to win its first title. But that upset hinged on a gutsy performance by Nowitzki in an 86-83 Mavericks win in Game 4 of the best-of-seven series, one in which he scored the game-winning layup while battling a fever of 101 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius).

That victory, known now as the "Fever Game," helped establish Nowitzki as not only the best European-born basketball player ever but also one of the greatest NBA players of all-time.

Feeling the heat

Nowitzki's only other Finals appearance came in 2006. His Mavericks took a 2-0 series lead over the Miami Heat, a team led by Shaquille O'Neal and a young Dwayne Wade. But Dallas lost the next four games, ending the franchise's quest for their first championship by handing Miami its maiden title.

In 2011, Nowitzki, then 32, got a second chance to beat the Heat in the Finals, but this Miami team was more formidable than the one from five years before. Nicknamed the "Heatles," Miami was fresh off recruiting marquee free agents LeBron James and Chris Bosh to go along with their own superstar in Wade. Many thought the Heat would steamroll their way to their first of many titles.

The Mavericks had already dispatched the defending champion Lakers and an Oklahoma City team that had three future MVPs in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden to become Western Conference Champions. But Dallas was beginning to look overmatched against the Heat in the Finals, losing two of the first three games of the Finals. A loss in Game 4 would have put the Heat one win away from the championship.

Nowitzki was having the best playoff stretch of his career. In the 18 games before Game 4, he was averaging 28.4 points — 10 points per game in the fourth quarter alone — and 7.9 rebounds per game. Nowitzki was also draining more than half of his field-goal attempts (50.6%).

Little did the big German know that he was about to face the toughest trial in the biggest game of his basketball career. Already dealing with a torn tendon in his finger, Nowitzki was diagnosed with the flu before tipoff.

"The night before, I [went] home and started shivering a little bit. I thought, 'Ah, I just probably need to go to bed, and I'll be great tomorrow. But it just didn't happen that way," Nowitzki revealed on the "2011 NBA Champions: Dallas Mavericks" DVD. 

"In my head, I was thinking: 'Shoot, this might be the biggest game of my life, and I'm here sweating and shivering and frustrated.'"

Fourth-quarter fever

Michael Jordan played Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals with the flu. Despite his 103-degree Fahrenheit fever, he dropped 38 points to lead his Chicago Bulls over the Utah Jazz.

Nowitzki's game was not nearly as dominant. Though he put in his best effort early in the game, most of his shots were wide of the mark. Through the first three quarters, he scored just 11 points from 13 shot attempts.

"Had a couple of good looks today, but really had no lift," Nowitzki said of his performance after the game.

Despite his illness, Dallas was still running most of its offensive possessions through him. But his exhaustion was obvious throughout the game, and he spent most of his time on the bench with his head covered with a towel.

But with his team down nine points with 10 minutes and 11 seconds to play, Nowitzki summoned whatever energy he had left and scored 10 points — more than the Heat's James had in the entire game — to put Dallas back in front.

With less than 30 seconds to go and the Mavericks possessing a narrow 81-80 lead, Nowitzki's moment arrived. With his back to Udonis Haslem, Nowitzki patiently glanced at the clock at the other end of the court. He then darted towards the basket and finished a layup, giving Dallas a crucial three-point lead. 

"I was under the weather a little bit, but this is the finals," Nowitzki said after the game, unable to hold back a few sniffles and coughs. "You're going to leave it out there."

That lead would hold until the final buzzer, a 86-83 win for Dallas that tied the series at two games apiece.

"He wants the ball. He wants the responsibility of winning and losing the game," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said of Nowitzki after Game 4. "He did everything he could possibly do. He's one of the greatest ever."

NBA Champion

The Mavericks would go on to win the next two games more comfortably to win the Finals in six games, sealing their first NBA championship.

A healthier Nowitzki scored 29 and 21 points in the final two games respectively, and he was named NBA Finals MVP, becoming just the second European — first since San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker in 2007 — to win the award.

Nowitzki didn't need to win a championship to be considered great. Already the first European to become an NBA MVP, Nowitzki's presence in the league also changed the way people thought about large players who could shoot.

His NBA title does separate him from a whole host of NBA greats — John Stockton, Charles Barkley and Karl Malone never won one. That Nowitzki won his while also under the weather makes it even more legendary.