Myles Turner says Dirk Nowitzki’s 2011 Finals shot is his favorite game winner

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner mentioned in a Twitter Q&A that his favorite game-winning shot of all-time came from Dirk Nowitzki in the Finals.

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner is celebrating his 24th birthday on Tuesday! To celebrate with all of us, he answered a few questions from fans on Twitter, a helpful source of content for those of us starving for Pacers content as we move through this period of time with the NBA season suspended.

Turner hit on a bunch of questions and topics, but one of the most interesting answers he gave was on the topic of his favorite game-winning shot or block of all-time.

Turner, a Dallas native, said that Dirk Nowitzki‘s Game 2 shot to seal the win with the left hand was his favorite.

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"“That really started his legacy in a sense. They went onto win that Finals series and it was just incredible to be in the city and be able to experience it.”"

This was the only NBA Finals the Mavericks have won in franchise history, appearing in another series before that in 2006 against the Miami Heat.

Nowitzki and Turner share some similarities on the court, but the main area they differ on the offensive end is that Nowitzki was a lethal scorer. In that 2011 season he was averaging 23.0 points per game, 27.7 points per game in the playoffs. Turner takes more of an ancillary role on offense setting screens and getting his teammates open for looks.

On defense, Turner is an elite rim protector, while Dirk Nowitzki didn’t take that role on throughout his career. Nowitzki posted seven seasons with a per-game block average of more than 1.0, Turner has blocked 2.2 shots per game this year and last year led the league with 2.7.

Turner answered all of his questions on the @NBA feed and talked about how he’s fortunate, despite the rough circumstances that make it possible, to have his birthday with no obligation of games or practices for once so that he can spend time with his family and relax on his birthday.

The 2011 Finals were a treat for any fan that wasn’t the Heat. The Pacers were unfortunately knocked out of the first round by the Chicago Bulls 4 games to 1. They would come back the next few years and become a regular force causing issues for the Big Three Heat era, pushing the Heat to 6 games in 2012, 7 games in 2013, and 6 games in 2014.

Happy birthday, Myles!