Monday, June 13, 2011

Dallas wins Game 6, Finals 105-95

Dallas wins Game 6, Finals 105-95

Jason Terry leads all scorers with 27 points and Dirk Nowitzki adds 21 as the Dallas Mavericks close out the series in Miami in Game 6

Mavericks-Heat notebook

THE FACTS: The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat 105-95 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, winning the series 4-2. It is the first title in franchise history. Guard Jason Terry scored a game-high 27 points off the bench while forward Dirk Nowitzki, who was named Finals MVP, added 21 points and 11 rebounds.
After struggling against the Heat's defense the first four games of the series, the Mavs topped 100 points for the second straight game. They shot 50 percent from the field, including 11 3-pointers. They took control of the game in third quarter behind strong play from Terry and J.J. Barea.
The Heat were led by LeBron James, who scored 21 points and had six assists. Forward Chris Bosh added 19 points and eight rebounds while Dwyane Wade added 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
QUOTABLE: "It took so long for us to get here. I don't really know if it would have made a difference [winning in Miami]. Just this feeling to be on the best team of the world is just undescribable."
-- Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki
THE STAT: The Mavericks were 11 of 26 from the 3-point line. It was their second consecutive game of hitting at least double-digits from behind the arc.
TURNING POINT: Dallas refused to rattle despite blowing a 12-point in the first half. The Heat at the time had all the momentum but the Mavericks still led at halftime. The most impressive part was Nowitzki was 1 of 12 from the field.
QUOTABLE II: "They just played the best basketball. Dirk constantly knocked down open shots. I mean, today he showed a lot of perseverance in just bouncing back. They made our defense work at the end of the day."
-- Heat forward Chris Bosh.
HOT: Jason Terry backed up all the talking he's done in the series. He made 11 of 16 shots, including 3 3-pointers. It was his most efficient game of the series. He was effective on the perimeter and driving to the basket.
NOT: Wade and James both struggled. They combined to shoot 15 of 31 from the field, but neither had that breakout performance needed to win. James started hot, scoring nine of the Heat's first 14 points. He then struggled in the second and third quarters. Wade never found his groove.
FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Wade had a solid all around game. He had 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists. The Heat probably would have liked to see more scoring from Wade.
GOOD MOVE: The Mavs put guard J.J. Barea in the starting lineup in Game 4. The move was probably the most important change of the series. His speed changed the pace, allowing the Mavs to play more fastbreak offense.
BAD MOVE: The Heat's offense sputtered once again. Too much standing around in halfcourt sets, and not enough fastbreak points. At some point, the offense is going to have to catch up to their defense

Friday, June 10, 2011

Dallas takes Game 5, 112-103

Dallas takes Game 5, 112-103 Dirk Nowitzki (29 points) and Jason Terry (21) make clutch shots late to put the Mavs within one game of a championship


Mavericks overcome James' triple-double, lead 3-2

Posted Jun 10 2011 4:58AM

DALLAS (AP) Dirk Nowitzki waited five long years for that elusive third victory over Miami, yet there was only a short celebration when it finally came.
He briefly thrust both arms in the air, a sea of blue screaming around him, but then quickly walked off the floor.
To Nowitzki, the real party can't come until next week.
"There's really nothing to celebrate," he said. "We're going in there Sunday swinging, like we did today, from the jump, and hopefully steal one Sunday."
And now it really is "now or never" for LeBron James and the Miami Heat.
Nowitzki scored 29 points, driving for the go-ahead dunk with 2:45 remaining, and the Mavericks beat the Heat 112-103 on Thursday night to take a 3-2 series lead.
The Mavs, who blew a 2-0 lead against the Heat in the 2006 finals, can wrap up their first championship in Game 6 at Miami on Sunday night.
"We didn't want to go to Miami and give them basically two shots to close us out. So we kept plugging there in the fourth. So definitely a big win for us," Nowitzki said. "And now we have to go down there and basically approach Sunday's game as Game 7."
James, who called this game "now or never," responded from his worst playoff performance with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and Dwyane Wade battled through a sore left hip after a first-quarter collision to finish with 23 points.
"I could have made a couple of more plays for my team," James said. "But at the end of the day, all it's about is a win or a loss. Triple-double means absolutely nothing in a loss. So we will be better in Game 6 on Sunday."
Chris Bosh had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat, who get the final two games at home with history against them as they try to win a title in their first season together: In the 26 previous finals that were tied 2-2, the Game 5 winner won 19 of them.
"We fought hard all season for home-court advantage. We're down 3-2," Bosh said. "We protect home court, we win the series, so we just have to keep that in mind."
The Mavs shot 60 percent through three quarters, briefly gave up the lead in the fourth, then outscored Miami 17-4 in the final 4:23, controlling the final few minutes just as they had in thrilling comebacks in Games 2 and 4.
Dallas shot 56.5 percent from the field, including 13 of 19 (68 percent) from 3-point range.
"We made more shots," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "We did a lot of good things defensively, which led to good offense. ... You never know when the games are going to go that way. The thing we've got to do is we've got to make sure our defense is consistent."
Jason Terry scored 21 points and J.J. Barea had 17 for the Mavs, who insisted at some point their shots would start falling even against the Heat's stingy defense. Jason Kidd and Tyson Chandler both finished with 13 points.
"We are getting the same looks we knew we would get," Terry said. "After Games 1 and 2, you watch it on film, you see it and then you realize you're going to have the opportunities. I said to myself, I said to my teammates, we're not going to continue to miss those open shots that we're getting."
James scored eight points in Game 4, going just 3 of 11, the first time in 90 postseason games he didn't hit double figures.
Trying to pump himself during a rough first finals in Miami in which he's been accused of everything from "shrinking" to "checking out" in the fourth quarters, he wrote "Now or Never!!" on his Twitter page early Thursday morning, later calling this the biggest game of his career.
But they feel the same urgency in Dallas, where the slogan "The Time is Now" is printed on those blue T-shirts that surround the court, and where the Mavs are loaded with 30-somethings - late 30s, in Kidd's case - who could be on their last shot at an NBA title.
Nowitzki said early Thursday he felt "great," having shaken the fever that rose to 101 degrees in Game 4.
This time, the health concern was Wade, who banged his hip in the first quarter and appeared to be limping at various points from there.
"I don't talk about injuries," Wade said. "It was unfortunate I had to leave the game, but I came back and finished it."
He remained in the locker room to start the second half, coming back onto the court about the midway point of the period. By then, the Mavs seemed in too good a groove to be cooled off no matter who Miami had out there.
A disgusted Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was already walking onto the court to call time by the time Chandler went up to dunk after catching the ball all alone under the basket, giving Dallas a nine-point lead that matched its largest of the series.
Miami stormed into the lead midway through the fourth with a 9-0 run, all layups, dunks and free throws until Wade's 3-pointer made it 99-95 with 4:38 to play.
The Mavs tied it at 100 on Terry's 3-pointer with 3:23 left, and after James missed, Nowitzki drove for a baseline dunk and a 102-100 lead. James was called for an offensive foul and missed a 3-pointer on Miami's next two possessions before Kidd drilled a 3-pointer to make it 105-100, sending the crowd into a delirious chant of "Beat the Heat! Beat the Heat!"
The teams were at the same point as their 2006 matchup after four games, but that one was already in the midst of a massive swing by then. Miami won the final four games behind Wade, the MVP of that series.
This one has been developing into one of the closest finals the NBA has ever seen. Games 2-4 were decided by three points or fewer. That hadn't happened in the championship round since 1948, according to STATS, LLC, when the Baltimore Bullets and Philadelphia Warriors played Games 2-4 within a three-point margin during the Basketball Association of America finals, a year before that league merged with the National Basketball League to become the NBA.
The first four games were determined by 15 total points, the fewest since a 12-game difference between the Celtics and Lakers in the 1969 finals.
And all eyes were on James, just as they have been since he bolted Cleveland for a better shot at a championship in Miami.
He vowed to be more aggressive after his puzzling Game 4. He caught the ball in the post more frequently, but his jumper was still off for much of the game.
James threw up an airball with his left hand on his first shot, and when he did finally score, the Mavs quickly came back with six straight points for an early 13-6 lead, a promising start for a team that had been playing from behind nearly all series.
Wade walked gingerly to the locker room with a left hip contusion with about 3 minutes left in the period after colliding with Mavs reserve Brian Cardinal on a drive to the basket, and didn't return to the bench until more than 3 minutes into the second.
James had a basket inside that gave Miami a six-point lead with 4:26 left in the half, but Dallas closed with a 14-5 push, taking a 60-57 edge to the locker room after Nowitzki's jumper with 6.1 seconds remaining. The Mavs shot 12 of 17 in the quarter, and after not reaching 30 points in any period through four games, hit that number in each of the first two quarters of Game 5.

Recap Notebook Heat-Mavericks notebook

DALLAS WON THE GAME 4 ON FINALS AGAINST HEAT


THE FACTS: Dirk Nowitzki fought through a 101-degree fever to score 10 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, including a decisive drive with 14.4 seconds left as Dallas evened the NBA Finals at 2-2 with an 86-83 victory over Miami in Game 4 Tuesday at the American Airlines Center. Dwyane Wade had 32 points, but fumbled away the Heat's final possession.
It was the third consecutive down-to-the-wire thriller, with 15 ties and 12 lead changes. It was also the third straight time Nowitzki figured into the outcome. In Game 2, he drove past Chris Bosh and finished with the left hand for a 95-93 victory. In Game 3, his fadeaway over Udonis Haslem was off the mark in an 88-86 loss. This time, matched up against Haslem again, Nowitzki drove to his right and beat Haslem and Wade to the hoop.
Jason Terry added 17 points (eight in the fourth), Shawn Marion scored 16 and Tyson Chandler had 13 points and 16 rebounds (nine offensive boards) for Dallas, which overcame a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit. Bosh scored 24 for Miami, while LeBron James scored a postseason-low eight points on 3-for-11 shooting.
QUOTABLE: "This is the Finals. You're going to leave it out there. Like I said earlier in the series -- it's June. ... You have to go out there and compete and try your best for your team, so that's what I did."
-- Nowitzki, who added 11 rebounds.
THE STAT: James had scored in double figures in 434 consecutive games. His teams are now 0-8 in the playoffs when he scores fewer than 15 points.
TURNING POINT: After making his first three shots and scoring the Mavericks' first six points of the game, Nowitzki then missed 10 of his next 11 shots. Dallas didn't hesitate to call his number when it mattered, however, and his drive past Haslem gave the Mavericks an 84-81 lead.
QUOTABLE II: "We'll have to look at the film. Obviously we would like to get him involved. He's a very important piece to what we do. So we'll work to help make it easier for him next game."
-- Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra on James' performance.
HOT: Bosh scored 16 points on 8-for-12 shooting in the first half. Wade scored 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting in the second half.
NOT: Miami turned the ball over six times and scored only 14 points on 33.3 percent shooting (5-for-15) during the fourth quarter. The Heat led 78-73 on Wade's layup with 7:24 remaining, but didn't score again until Bosh made two free throws at the 1:53 mark. Wade missed a potential tying free throw with 30.1 seconds left.
INSIDE THE ARENA: Kelly Clarkson, winner of the inaugural season of American Idol and a Dallas-area native, sang the national anthem. Dallas Cowboys Tony Romo and Jason Witten, NFL rushing king Emmitt Smith and rapper Lil Wayne attended the game.
GOOD MOVE: Carlisle's decision to start J.J. Barea over DeShawn Stevenson for the first time this postseason didn't have its intended effect of speeding up the tempo, but Stevenson gave Dallas a big spark off the bench in the second quarter. He scored all 11 of his points in that period, going 3-for-4 from 3-point range. Barea finished with eight points and four assists.
BAD MOVE: After Terry hit two free throws with 6.7 seconds left to put Dallas up 86-83, Miami called timeout to get possession in the frontcourt. Mike Miller threw the inbounds pass to Wade, but the ball bounced off his hands and the Heat couldn't recover in time to get a clean look.
NOTABLE: Neither team shot the ball well from 3-point distance, with Miami going 2-for-14 and Dallas 4-for-19 from beyond the arc. ... Miami's opponents have scored fewer than 100 points in 18 of 19 games this postseason. ... Nowitzki made 39 consecutive free throws and was 26-for-26 in the Finals before missing with 3:52 left in the third quarter. ... Joel Anthony has now blocked at least one shot in 15 straight postseason games, one shy of Miami's franchise record held by Alonzo Mourning.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Miami secures Game 3, 88-86

Miami secures Game 3, 88-86

Dwyane Wade attacks the rim for 29 points and Chris Bosh adds 18 as the Heat hold off the Mavericks 88-86 in Dallas. Dirk Nowitzki scores 34 points for the Mavericks.


Wade, Bosh lift Heat to 2-1 lead in NBA finals

Posted Jun 06 2011 12:47AM

DALLAS (AP) Dwyane Wade kept soaring and scoring, doing everything he could to get the Miami Heat a crucial win towards an NBA title.
Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem provided the final push.
Bosh made a 16-foot, go-ahead jumper from the baseline with 39.6 seconds left and Haslem pestered Dirk Nowitzki the rest of the way as the Heat held on for an 88-86 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night for a 2-1 lead in the NBA finals.
"This is a total win," said Wade, who led Miami with 29 points and 11 rebounds. "You want to win the game on the defensive end of the floor and we got a stop."
Recent history says this is a huge win for the Heat. The Game 3 winner in a tied finals has won the championship all 11 times since the 2-3-2 format began in 1985.
The Heat are headed into Game 4 on Tuesday night with a chance to do what they did in 2006: win it all on Dallas' floor. They'll need to win that game and the next, on Thursday night.
"I feel like we did nothing but get home-court advantage back," Wade said. "But the next game is a big game. We have to bring our hard hats, understanding it's going to be tougher to win that game than it was to win this one. I believe in this team. If anyone can do it, I believe we can."
With all its star power, many expected Miami to be planning a victory parade by now, especially after a solid victory in Game 1.
But the Heat blew a 15-point lead in the last quarter of Game 2, and nearly did it again this time, coughing up a 14-point lead.
The Heat recovered to lead 81-74 with 6:31 left. Everyone knew the Mavericks' comeback bid would be in Nowitzki's hands, but it didn't matter. He still scored 12 straight points - six free throws, a layup, a dunk and a tough jumper - tying it at 86.
With under a minute to go, Wade got the ball to LeBron James near the top of the key. Haslem screened Nowitzki while Bosh got set, took the pass from James and ripped it through the net, quite a thrill for the Dallas native who'd been 0-8 in his hometown. It was even more impressive considering his left eyelid was swollen because of an accidental poke by Jason Kidd in the first quarter, and he'd been misfiring all series, even when his vision was good.
"I don't care if he missed 15 in a row," James said. "He was wide open and that's his sweet spot. ... It's the trust we have in each other's ability, no matter what the point of the game is at."
The Mavericks of course went back to Nowitzki on its last two chances. And Haslem was right there both times for the Heat.
Right after Bosh scored, Nowitzki wanted to take a shot near the foul line but had Haslem swarming him and Wade charging at him. He jumped to shoot but twisted and threw toward Shawn Marion near the 3-point line on the right side. Marion had already taken off toward the basket, so the ball went into the front row instead.
After James missed a 3, Dallas had 4.4 seconds left to go for the tie or win. The inbounds pass went to Nowitzki and he was alone against Haslem just above the foul line.
Haslem anticipated what Nowitzki was going to do and walked the fine line between disrupting the shot while avoiding a foul.
"He's a great player, 7 feet, so he's going to shoot over me," Haslem said. "I've got to make it tough on him."
When the buzzer went off, Haslem swung his arms and screamed in delight while a frenzied crowd of 20,340 sighed in agony.
"Emotional game, fought back, and to fall short at the end is tough," said Nowitzki who scored 34 points. "But they need two more. Hopefully we can play a better all-around game and finally get some shots to go down."
Wade made 12 of 21 shots and was at his dynamic best from the start, looking like the guy who lifted the Heat past Dallas and to the title in '06.
"He was aggressive and took good shots," Bosh said. "We rode the wave for a little while. He set the tone for us."
Most of his baskets came in the paint - where the Heat outscored the Mavs, 40-22 - and many of them were spectacular. But he also stemmed Dallas' rally by hitting a go-ahead jumper over Kidd for Miami's second-to-last basket, and he made sure to keep his teammates properly focused, offering praise or scolding when needed. When James was duped into a shot-clock violation in the final minutes, Wade pounded his fists on his head in frustration.
"I've been here before," Wade said. "So (I was) just trying to lead. My guys did a great job of following that lead. We were able to come out with the win."
Wade and Bosh each scored seven points in the fourth quarter. Bosh finished with 18 points.
James came in talking about being more aggressive, but wasn't. He went more than 6 minutes before taking his first shot, but certainly made it worth the wait - a drive through the teeth of the defense for a powerful dunk. He also had a two-handed jam in the second half that put Miami up by 13.
He finished with 17 points and nine assists. He also had four turnovers, including a pair during the fourth quarter - not counting the shot-clock violation - that helped bring Dallas back.
Nowitzki scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, but didn't get much help, in the period or the rest of the game.
Terry scored 15 and Shawn Marion had 10. Both were shut out in the fourth quarter. The only other scorers were backup point guard J.J. Barea early in the quarter and Tyson Chandler dunking off a rebound.
For the game, Nowitzki made 11 shots, the rest of the Mavericks 17.
"We have to have somebody step up besides Dirk," said Jason Kidd, who had nine points and 10 assists, but also four turnovers. Giveaways haunted Dallas throughout the game, especially the first half, helping keep Miami comfortably ahead. "We have to figure out how to get up front and play up front. The big thing is we've got to be able to make plays late in the game. Game 2 we made the plays, Game 3 we just didn't."
Dallas was without backup center Brendan Haywood because of a hip injury. His absence meant more minutes for several frontcourt players, and it put Ian Mahinmi on the court for 8 minutes. He scored two points and committed five fouls.
Miami led by seven after the first quarter, the final three points coming on a buzzer-beater by Mario Chalmers. The Heat lead hit 14 in the second quarter, dipped to five at halftime then ran back to 13 early in the third quarter.
But the Heat couldn't put the Mavs away. Dallas would surge close or ahead, then Miami would turn it up again. The final 18 minutes played out with both teams realizing any possession could change the game and the series.
Nothing came easy for anyone. Shots were contested, bodies collided for every rebound and guys were flying into the stands after loose balls. Fans stood throughout, wearing their blue gimme T-shirts and fired up by videos such as one featuring encouraging words from Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Nolan Ryan and others.
Ultimately, it was the visitors from Miami who walked off celebrating.
"Now we just have to move on," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "The tough part right now is amnesia. Both teams are highly competitive, this is a competitive series as you can see. We have to really gather ourselves in 48 hours and get right back and do this again."
NOTES: Bosh on his injured eye: "We'll spit on it and put a Band-Aid on it and patch it up later." ... Dallas fell to 8-2 at home this postseason. ... The Heat and Mavs have each won a road game this series, which should be no surprise. They tied for the best road record in the NBA this season. ... Bosh was booed as much as any Miami player during pregame introductions. So much for fans cutting the local kid some slack. ... The Mavs fell to 2-1 this postseason in games officiated by Dan Crawford. Dallas came into this postseason having lost 16 of its last 17 playoff games he worked. ... Aikman and Terrell Owens sat about 10 seats apart on the same row. Owens attended games in Miami, too.

Aggressive Miami takes lead

Aggressive Miami takes lead

Fired up after their Game 2 meltdown, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and the Heat are driving the paint on the Mavericks' home court.

Third Quarter score board : MIAMI - 67 , DALLAS 64. 3 point lead by MIAMI Heat

Saturday, June 4, 2011

NBA Finals Game 1 Dallas vs Miami

Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks 92-84 in Game 1
watch the game 2 here: NBA Finals Game 2 


Mavericks-Heat notebook

  Wednesday June 1, 2011 12:55AM

THE FACTS: The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks 92-84 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena. The Heat lead the series 1-0. Forward LeBron James led the Heat with 24 points and nine rebounds while guard Dwyane Wade added 22 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
The Heat trailed by eight in the third quarter before turning things around. James hit an off-balanced 3-pointer at the end of the quarter to put Miami ahead by four. Miami limited the Mavericks to just 37 percent shooting, slowing star forward Dirk Nowitzki. He finished with 27 points, but shot just 7 of 18 from the field. Forward Shawn Marion added 16 points and 10 rebounds.
In a defensive battle, Miami shot poorly as well, making 38 percent from the field. The difference was the Heat's 16 offensive rebounds and 11 of 24 shooting from the 3-point arc.
QUOTABLE: "Well, again, that was a grind. It's tough. That's a very skilled offensive team. We didn't get into much of an offensive flow the entire game. This was more of probably a defensive battle."
-- Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra
.
THE STAT: The Heat won the offensive rebounding battle 16-6. The second-chance points were vital in Miami overcoming a second-half deficit and staying close in the first half.
TURNING POINT: The moment Wade joined the party in the second half. After allowing James and Chris Bosh to carry the early load, Wade finished strong with seven fourth-quarter points. The Heat are fine with this as long as Wade arrives at some point. He played the same way throughout the Chicago Bulls series in the Eastern Conference finals.
QUOTABLE II: "We'll play better. I'm very certain of that. Again, we had some opportunities that, shot we normally make, they didn't go down. And so that was tough."
-- Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle.

HOT: James shot 9 of 16 from the field, but more importantly hit 4 of 5 from 3-point range. That made things difficult for the Mavs' defense and eventually opened things up for him and Wade to drive to the basket.
NOT: Nowitzki scored 27 points, but had to work hard to get them. He shot just 7 of 18 from the field, with most of his production coming from the foul line. The Mavs will need him to perform like he did in the previous two rounds to have any sort of chance.
FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Wade finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Not bad for a player who was virtually a non-factor in the first half.
INSIDE THE ARENA: Jimmy Buffet, Gloria Estefan, Ludacris, Queen Latifah, Terrell Owens.
GOOD MOVE: The Heat decided to have James defense Mavs guard Jason Terry in the second half. It eliminated much of the Mavs' perimeter scoring. There was talk about James defending Nowitzki, but it never happened. It wound working because the Dallas offense was less effective in the second half.
BAD MOVE: The Mavs appeared to give up the 3-point shot. It came back to haunt them, with the Heat making 11 of 24 from behind the arc. Miami's 3-point shooting allowed it to offset its 38 percent shooting.
NOTABLE: The Heat are now 9-0 at home in the postseason ... Heat center Erick Dampier was active for the first time in the playoffs, but did not play ... The Mavs trail for the first time in a playoff series this season ...Mavs forward Caron Buter (knee) remained inactive, but coach Rick Carlisle has yet to rule him out for the series.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Dallas steals Game 2, 95-93

Despite 36 points from Dwyane Wade and a 15-point fourth quarter lead for Miami, the Mavericks rally to overtake the Heat in a Game 2
watch the Game 1 here: NBA Finals Game 1


Mavericks-Heat notebook

Posted Friday June 3, 2011 1:17AM

THE FACTS: The Dallas Mavericks rallied from a 15-point, fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Miami Heat 95-93 Thursday in Game 2 of the NBA Finals at AmericanAirlines Arena. The series is now tied at 1. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 24 points, including the winning layup with three seconds remaining. Nowitzki, playing with a torn tendon in his left middle finger, also hit a key 3-pointer in the final minute to put the Mavs ahead 93-90.
The Heat responded with a 3-pointer from guard Mario Chalmers in the corner, setting the stage for Nowitzki's final shot. Miami had one last chance, but Dwyane Wade missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Wade led all scorers with 36 points while forward LeBron James had 20 points and eight rebounds. The Mavs had four players in double-figures, including Shawn Marion (20 points), Jason Terry (16) and Tyson Chandler (13).
QUOTABLE: "Just hang in. Let's get some stops. Let's give ourselves a chance. Let's put some pressure on them. We really hadn't put any pressure on them at all in two games to speak of ... but by being solid and getting a couple of stops and scoring, we got some momentum and it worked out."
-- Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle.
THE STAT: Trailing 88-73, the Mavs closed the game with a 22-5 run.
TURNING POINT: A 3-pointer by Wade with 7:13 left produced the 15-point lead, but his posing in front of the Dallas bench provided a spark for the Mavs. Several Mavericks said it served as motivation for the comeback. Tyson Chandler said it was a show of disrespect and Jason Terry needed to be held back by teammates because of the excessive celebrating.
QUOTABLE II: "No question about it, that's about as tough a fourth quarter you can have. When it started to slide, it just kept on going ... We're not happy about this. Certainly the way we closed the game is so uncharacteristic for us on both ends of the court."
-- Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra.
HOT: It's unfortunate the Heat wasted Wade's best game of the postseason. He was hot from the start, but disappeared in the end. Wade finished with 36 points on 13 of 20 shooting. Most of his production came when took advantage of the mismatch of being guarded by Mavs point guard Jason Kidd.
NOT: Heat forward Chris Bosh continues to struggle in the Finals. He shot just 4 of 16 from the field, finishing with 12 points. The Mavs have put most of their focus on stopping James and Wade, but Bosh has failed to take advantage of the open shots.
FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: James finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists. He shot 8 of 15 from the field, but the Heat probably need him to be more aggressive from the field.
GOOD MOVE: The Mavs did not run many set plays in the final seven minutes. Players said it allowed them to play more relaxed. It's a strategy they've used often this season when trailing, and it led to one of the greatest comebacks in Finals history.
BAD MOVE: The Heat may have gotten just a little too comfortable with that 15-point lead. It didn't help that Wade decided to showboat in front of the Mavs' bench. Dallas had more than enough fuel when you consider the Heat crowd had already begun celebrating by throwing T-shirts on the court.
NOTABLE: The loss was the Heat's first home loss in 10 playoff games this season. The Mavs are the first team to rally from a 15-point deficit in the Finals since the Chicago Bulls against the Portland Trailblazers in 1992.
UP NEXT: Game 3 is Sunday at AmericanAirlines Center at 8 p.m. on ABC