National Basketball Association

Report: Dirk, Mavs partied harder in '06

Published Jun. 26, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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Dallas Mavericks superstar Dirk Nowitzki said he and his teammates partied harder after losing the NBA title in 2006 then they did after winning it this month, The Dallas Morning News reported Sunday.

Nowitzki said the team drank more in 2006 because it was trying to forget the defeat to Miami -- a loss it made up for with a 4-2 series win over the Heat in this year's Finals.

Asked about how much partying the Mavericks had done in the past couple weeks, Nowitzki said in an interview with Dallas radio station KCTK-AM 1310, "That's the funny thing ... I actually think we partied harder in '06 when we lost just to forget about it than we did now.

"In '06, 'JET' [Jason Terry] picked me up for the party bus almost every day, and we went somewhere just to make us forget and have a good time. We ended up in Vegas after three hard weeks.

"This year, we've had a couple of good nights, but I'm 33. My body can't recover, so you have to party one day, and the next day you have to be off. You can't go back-to-back when you're that old. Partying once in a while gets old."

But the the 2011 Finals MVP was not done partying yet, saying he will up the ante again while back in his native Germany this week.

"I'll definitely put in some good work when I get to Germany when I see my friends -- definitely be a couple of good nights there," he said.