 The most significant change to the 2010 – 11 team roster was the arrival of Tyson Chandler via trade. Nowitzki was injured in the middle of the season, during which the Mavericks recorded their worst losing streak in over a decade. Nowitzki finished the regular season with averages of 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. Despite missing 9 games, Nowitzki was selected to the 2011 All-Star Game, his tenth appearance. The Mavericks concluded the regular season with 57 wins, seeding third behind the Spurs and Lakers for the 2011 NBA Playoffs. During the playoffs, despite their seeding, many predicted that Dallas would lose in the first round to Portland, and after blowing a 23-point fourth-quarter lead in Game 4 to even the series at 2 – 2, the Mavericks appeared ready for another postseason collapse. However, Dallas won the final two games to advance. They then swept the two-time defending champion Lakers in the semifinals in Phil Jackson's final year as an NBA coach. In the Conference Finals, they faced the Oklahoma City Thunder and their All-NBA duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. In Game 1, Nowitzki scored 48 points while shooting 12 / 15 from the field while setting an NBA record of 24 consecutive free throws made in a game as well as most free throws in a game without a miss. In Game 4, with Dallas up, 2 – 1, Nowitzki scored 40 points to rally his team from a 99 – 84 deficit in the fourth quarter with 5 minutes left and eventually win, 112 – 105, in OT to take a 3 – 1 series lead. Dallas overcame another fourth-quarter deficit in Game 5 to win the Western Conference Title. In the 2011 NBA Finals, Dallas once again faced the Heat, which had acquired All-Stars LeBron James and Chris Bosh before the season began. During the Game 1 loss in Miami, he tore a tendon in his left middle finger; however, MRIs were negative, and Nowitzki vowed that the injury would not be a factor. In Game 2, he led a Dallas rally from an 88 – 73 fourth-quarter deficit, capped by a driving left-handed layup over Bosh to tie the series at 1. Miami took a 2 – 1 series lead after Nowitzki missed a potential game-tying shot at the end of Game 3. Despite carrying a 101°F fever in Game 4, he hit the winning basket to tie the series yet again at 2, evoking comparisons to Michael Jordan's "Flu Game" against Utah in the 1997 NBA Finals. Dallas went on to win the next two games, with Nowitzki scoring 10 fourth-quarter points in the series-clinching game in Miami, bringing the first championship to the franchise. In the series, Nowitzki scored 62 points total in the six fourth quarters, equaling the combined fourth-quarter output of James and Wade. He was named Finals MVP, joining a list of 10 other players to have been an NBA champion, NBA Finals MVP, an NBA regular season MVP, and a ten-time All-Star. For the 2011 playoffs, Nowitzki averaged 27.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 21 games.
