Dallas Mavericks head coach, Avery Johnson, has responded to is sides crushing NBA playoff loss to the Miami Heat by praising his players for all their hard work.

Speaking after the Heat took a 4-2 series win - their first in franchise history, a disappointed Johnson admitted that he had nothing but deep love for his players.

"I am just so proud of our team," Johnson told a packed media conference.

"I'll just tell you that I just told them how much I love them, through thick and thin.

"I loved them during the 13-game winning streak, the three-game losing streak in the regular season, this four-game losing streak."

The head coach who joined the team half way through 2005, said that all teams go through ups and downs in basketball, and he was proud of where the Mavericks got to in 2006.

"I think that we've made a lot of progress this year," he said.

"We got knocked out in the first round two years ago, second round last year.

"We aimed high this year, and I told them that a lot of teams have to go through this."