Michael Ventre

This championship belongs to Pat Riley.

He would never have won it without the astonishing Dwyane Wade, who played like a superstar is supposed to play in pressure-filled games. He would never have won it without the timely contributions of veterans like Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Antoine Walker, Gary Payton and Jason Williams. He would never have won it without a yeoman’s effort from Udonis Haslem, who really had no business being this clutch.

But make no mistake, this was Riley’s doing.

Many critics — including this one — thought the rays of the Miami sun had finally penetrated the dense layer of petroleum on his duck-tailed mane and affected his mental acuity. He took a team that had the promise of multiple NBA Finals in its future and reconstructed it. In doing so, he created a haven for the sullen and the moody.

He invited Walker, Payton and Williams into the Heat’s bosom, turning a franchise on the rise into a home for the wayward.  Worse, their presence and their baggage could infect Wade, a humble and positive kid who needed to be led down the path of success instead of delinquency.

And that wasn’t all. Riley the architect couldn’t leave well enough alone. He had to make himself Riley the head coach in December, casting Stan Van Gundy into a suburban life of carpools and grass seed.

Yet, he made it all work. This, Riley’s fifth championship as a head coach, represents his finest hour as a basketball man.

Back on Feb. 9, the Heat lost to these same Mavericks by 36 points in Dallas. Afterward, Riley gave the team a talking-to. Riley’s talks in the past have often resulted in broken greaseboards or scattered drinking cups. This time, it merely turned the season around.

The payoff came Tuesday night, in a 95-92 victory in Game 6 of the NBA Finals in Dallas. The sports world was still atwitter over the Mark Cuban-Avery Johnson Referee Roast, and the prevailing belief was that the irate Mavs would stomp the Heat, forcing a deciding Game 7.

What occurred instead was pure Riley. It stems from the days when he had to fight the neighborhood kids in Schenectady, N.Y., who taunted him because his dad liked to spend time drinking in bars. It sprung from his days as a hard-nosed disciple of Adolph Rupp at Kentucky.

NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. MAVERICKS Miami wins series 4-2 Heat burns Mavs, wins first title Ventre: Riley earns his title Celizic: Mavs fold in the Heat WP: No excuses, Mavs -- Heat better WP: Too bad whining detracts At 24, Wade atop basketball world Mavs left to wonder the what-ifs Heat fans happy | Mavs fans upset Ventre: Pick Suns to win in 2007 Series breakdown |   Top images

It came from Riley’s time in the NBA as a scrappy sixth man for the Rockets, Lakers and Suns, after which he was so forgotten that he was once refused entry into the Forum press lounge. Then he became a broadcaster, assistant coach and head coach in an incredible series of events with the Lakers, and had to prove he belonged, especially when the bitter Lakers-Celtics rivalry renewed itself. His days in the New York cauldron of basketball mania made him even grittier.

Now here it was, a chance to win his first championship since 1988, an opportunity to show the world that he was not just the beneficiary of an alignment of stars like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy.

Slide show   NBA Finals Click to see pictures from the Miami Heat's six-game victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

The Miami Heat in Tuesday’s Game 6 absorbed Pat Riley — his spirit, his determination, his experience — and out-competed the shrinking Mavericks.