Warmth for Heat
MIAMI – And after the sixth game, they rested.
The Miami Heat began a well-deserved break Wednesday after their triumphant return to South Florida with the NBA championship trophy in tow. The Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks 95-92 in Game 6 Tuesday for the 18-year-old franchise’s first title.
Finals Most Valuable Player Dwyane Wade, center Shaquille O’Neal and the other Heat members arrived at Miami International Airport shortly before 7 a.m., just hours after noisy but peaceful celebrations sprung up in South Beach, Little Havana and Hialeah.
Lines of cars rolled slowly though streets, horns honking as passengers leaned out of windows to cheer along with throngs of onlookers who banged pots and pans, danced and waved signs. No arrests were reported.
“It’s just fantastic, fantastic,” Heat owner Micky Arison told reporters after arriving. “Everything we heard about the reaction from Miami (has) been tremendous. The fans have been great. Gracias, Miami.”
More parties were being scheduled. The championship parade envisioned 11 years ago by Pat Riley, Heat coach and president, was set for 2 p.m. Friday in downtown Miami. Heat players also were expected to attend a party Friday at Mansion, a nightclub on trendy South Beach.
“I’m going to live it up,” Wade said, “because we deserve it.”
Francisco Saravia, a 34-year-old Miami biology teacher, started his celebration Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena, where he watched a live broadcast of the game with about 14,000 other fans. He ran outside the arena after the game to exchange high-fives, then made his way to the airport to await the team.
“It gives you a sense of pride, a sense of belonging to a community that embraces the team,” Saravia said.
At the airport, fans gave huge cheers and pressed up against a chain-link fence as the players’ plane arrived. Fire trucks shot streams of water over the aircraft as it taxied toward a hangar, where a fleet of black limousines and sport utility vehicles waited to carry the new champs home.
“It was great looking out the window, it was a great feeling to see the fans,” assistant coach Bob McAdoo said. “The pilot told them to look out the window and they saw the crowd.”
O’Neal hoisted the golden trophy with one hand and then cradled it as he walked off the plane, smiling and waving. On his first appearance in Miami after he was traded from Los Angeles two summers ago, he promised he would bring a title – and delivered.
Riley said the team drank 22 bottles of Cristal champagne on the flight.
“I’m running on fumes right now,” said center Alonzo Mourning, who’s played 13 seasons, interrupted twice by retirements to fight a life-threatening kidney ailment, but is now a champion. “I’m so excited.”