5 best Dirk Nowitzki performances from his magical 2011

Regarded as one of the best power forwards of all time, here are the five best performances from Dirk Nowitzki during his 2010–11 season with the Dallas Mavericks.

5) Nowitzki's 42 points against Detroit Pistons

In a regular season game against the Detroit Pistons, Dirk Nowitzki did not mess around as he dropped 42 points in effortless fashion. He shot 13-of-23, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range in a 88-84 win. Nowitzki added 12 rebounds to his outing, as Detroit had no answer for him.

4) Nowitzki closes out the Portland Trail Blazers with 33 points

In a closeout game at the Trail Blazers' homecourt, Nowitzki helped the Mavericks eliminate Portland in Game 6. The Mavericks star delivered 33 points (11-of-17 shooting) and 11 rebounds in a 103-96 victory.

He was sensational all night but came through the most during the fourth quarter as he knocked down jumper after jumper. Any defensive cover thrown at him didn't matter, as he would hit the defense with his patent fadeaway jumpers.

The first-round series was a back-and-forth matchup as Gerald Wallace and LaMarcus Aldridge from Portland made things interesting for Dallas.

3) Nowitzki puts the Mavericks up 3-0 over the Lakers with 32 points

After securing two-straight road wins in Los Angeles against the Lakers, he arrived in Dallas with a purpose. Against the defending champions, Dirk Nowitzki showed out with 32 points (12-of-19 shooting, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range) and 9 rebounds in a 98-92 win.

His bank shot with 1:23 minutes left in the fourth gave Dallas a two-point advantage as the Lakers struggled to respond the rest of the way.

2) Nowitzki drops 40 points vs the Oklahoma City Thunder in OT

In the 2011 Western Conference Finals, Dirk Nowitzki would not be denied against the OKC Thunder. In a 112-105 overtime win, Nowitzki shined the brightest among the other stars in the matchup. He delivered 40 points (12-of-20 shooting, including 2-of-3 shooting) and 5 rebounds.

With 2:30 minutes left in the fourth quarter, all the Thunder had to do was protect their 10-point advantage over Dallas. But Dirk Nowitzki would not be denied. He went on to score nine straight points to force overtime.

1) Nowitzki completes NBA Finals Game 2 comeback over the Heat with 24 points

Against the intimidating Miami Heat, Nowitzki needed to go head-to-head against LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh to capture his first-ever title.

The Mavericks were down 15 points with 7:13 minutes left to go in the fourth quarter as Miami looked primed to close the game with a win.

However, throughout the postseason, Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks have showcased their composure. The team was able to mount a comeback, with their superstar forward coming through with a game-winning layup to give the team a two-point lead with 3.6 seconds left in the fourth.

Nowitzki finished the game with 24 points (10-of-22 shooting, including 1-of-2 from 3-point range) and 11 rebounds.

Looking back on Dirk Nowitzki's comments about the possibility of heading to other teams near the end of his career

In an article written by Arjun Julka for The Sports Rush, Dirk Nowitzki talked about his plans in the scenario that his Mavericks didn't win a championship during the 2011 run.

"If we hadn't won the championship in 2011," Nowitzki said, "I would have maybe looked to other teams near the end of my career. Luckily, it didn't come to that."

During the Mavericks' championship run, the superstar forward was incredible, as he averaged 27.7 points per game (48.5% shooting, including 46.0% from 3-point range) and 8.1 rebounds.

After the 2010–11 season, Dallas was not able to capture that same energy as a lot of players from the championship roster that left for other teams. The organization also failed to make any significant moves to acquire quality talent that would fit the CBA cap guidelines at the time.