espn.com’s tim MacMahon:
MIAMI — The Dallas Mavericks‘ flop against the Miami Heat in the 2006 NBA Finals isn’t onJason Terry‘s mind, but a piece of that series was on his body the night before Game 1 on Tuesday night.
Terry always wears a pair of the opponent’s game shorts to bed the night before games, a superstition that dates to his college days.
That didn’t change Monday night, when Terry slipped on a pair of Miami Heat shorts.
Only these weren’t any Heat shorts. These were a pair given to Terry by Gary Payton after Miami beat Dallas to win the NBA championship in 2006.
Any nightmares?
“Gary Payton gave me some back when they beat us,” said Terry, the only player other thanDirk Nowitzki remaining on the Mavericks’ roster from the 2006 Finals team. “I slept good.”
Terry admittedly is “very superstitious.”
He recently said he’d remove the tattoo of the Larry O’Brien Trophy from the inside of his right biceps if the Mavericks don’t beat the Heat in the Finals, saying it would be bad luck if he didn’t.
Terry had the tattoo placed there prior to the start of this season.
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