INDIANAPOLIS – Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said he was in touch with one of his former players, Reggie Miller, on Friday. Ironically on Saturday, Carlisle was asked if there are any similarities between Dirk Nowitzki and Miller.

“There are many similarities between Reggie Miller and Nowitzki,” Carlisle said. “They’re both great creatures of habit, they both had very stringent day-to-day rituals – wacky, extremes at times—but never changed.

“They both had the same meticulous approach to shooting and the kind of preparation you had to do to be great and to maintain that level of greatness.”

Both Nowitzki and Miller are also known for playing their entire NBA career with one franchise. Miller played for the Indiana Pacers from 1987-‘2005, while Nowitzki has been with the Mavs since 1998. Carlisle coached Miller during the latter’s final two seasons with the Pacers, and he has been coaching Nowitzki since 2008.

Nowitzki and Miller are two of the greatest NBA players of all-time. They also are acutely known for making clutch baskets – an antidote Carlisle pointed out.

“The other thing that Reggie and Dirk have in common are the fact that in the big moments they had done all the preparation, they had absolutely no fear,” Carlisle said. “They wanted the ball and were only thinking about ways that ball was going to go in the basket.

“And because of that if you look at clutch statistics, game-winners, things of that nature, you could find that those two guys in the modern era are two of the greatest closers and makers of game-winning shots in history. It’s been a great privilege to have significant years with both guys.”