"Chris Bosh embodied the Heat's collective emotions when he collapsed in the tunnel leading to the locker room after Dallas won Game 6 and the NBA championship on Miami's home court.

The Heat was humbled, overwhelmed and temporarily incapacitated. It took the team's most honest player to express the anguish.

Suddenly, the season was over. The air gushed out of Bosh, and he fainted to the floor. It wasn't so much a letdown as a crash.

"I haven't experienced that pain in a very long time," Bosh said. "To be so close and work so hard and come up short, it just got to me. It took over me.

"I'm not an emotional guy. I couldn't help it. I got it out of me and feel a lot better."

Bosh spoke Tuesday during the Heat's postmortem as Mavericks owner Mark Cuban offered to pay for the city's celebratory parade and Ohio Gov. John Kasich issued a resolution commending the Mavs for their teamwork and Dirk Nowitzki for re-signing last summer and "remaining loyal to the team, city and fans for whom he played his entire career."

More salt on the wounds of Heat players and coach Erik Spoelstra, who admitted it will take weeks before they can function normally. Even then, the back of their minds will remain littered with What-Ifs.

"You play things over and over in your head," Wade said. "There was only one season where I left feeling complete, so it never gets easier.""