Heat holds off Mavs to win Game 3
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat react late in the fourth quarter while taking on the Dallas Mavericks in Game Three of the NBA Finals at American Airlines Center. (June 5, 2011) Credit: Getty
DALLAS -- Dwyane Wade kept soaring and scoring, doing everything he could to get the Miami Heat a crucial win toward an NBA title.
Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem provided the final push to seal the key victory.
Bosh made a 16-foot, go-ahead jumper from the baseline with 39.6 seconds left and Haslem pestered Dirk Nowitzki (34 points) the rest of the way as the Heat held on for an 88-86 victory over the Dallas Mavericks 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 suggests 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 go into Game 4 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.
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.
Miami recovered to lead 81-74 with 6:31 left. Everyone knew Nowitzki would drive Dallas' rally, 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.
Shawn Marion pestered LeBron James (17 points) into a 24-second violation. Jason Terry missed a chance to put the Mavericks ahead, then Bosh (18 points) nailed his clutch jumper from the left side, a thrill for the Dallas native who had been 0-8 in his hometown.
The Mavericks of course went back to Nowitzki on its last two chances, and his streak ran out. He tried passing out of a double team and threw the ball into the stands, then hit the back iron on a jumper over Haslem as time ran out. "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."
At the buzzer, Haslem swung his arms and screamed in delight while a frenzied crowd of 20,340 sighed in agony.
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