hampering his play. He was waived on November 25, 2005. At the end of calendar 2005, Nowitzki achieved a rare double by winning both the Euroscar and Mr. Europa, a second prestigious award for the top European player. He additionally was named the inaugural FIBA Europe Player of the Year. Up until the very end of the season, the Mavericks would be toe-to-toe with the San Antonio Spurs for the crown of the Southwest Division as well as the first spot in the Western Conference. However, they fell short of the title and had to settle for a fourth seed. Nonetheless, they once again achieved a 60–22 record, with Avery Johnson winning NBA Coach of the Year honors. In the playoffs, they swept the Memphis Grizzlies, leading to a titanic series against their state rivals and the reigning NBA champions the San Antonio Spurs. Five out of the seven games were decided in the last minute, including a Game 7 that had to go into overtime, with the Mavs prevailing under the guidance of Dirk Nowitzki and an incredibly deep bench. The Mavericks were able to advance to the Conference Finals against former teammate Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns. The Mavs' defense and depth enabled them to take the series, as they defeated the Phoenix Suns in game 6 of the Western Conference Finals on June 3, 2006 in the US Airways Center in Phoenix, and the Mavs advanced to their first NBA Finals in franchise history. In the NBA Finals, the Mavericks faced the Miami Heat, held home-court advantage and scored two convincing wins. After game 2, Dallas city officials had already planned the victory parade. However, in Game 3, the Mavs blew a late double-digit lead, courtesy of Heat guard Dwyane Wade. He carried the Heat to the win, with Nowitzki missing a potentially game-tying free throw in the last seconds. After getting blown out in Game 4, the Mavericks suffered another loss in Game 5 when Wade scored the game-tying basket in the last possession of regular time, putting the Heat ahead with last-second free throws in overtime. The tragic figure was Josh Howard, who missed a pair of clutch free throws in overtime and mistakenly called an early timeout, so the Mavs had to bring in the ball at backcourt rather than halfcourt for the last possession. In Game 6, the Mavericks took an early