Dirk and ‘The Jet’ lead the Mavs to another wild fourth-quarter comeback

A game away from his first NBA title, Dirk Nowitzki knows that the Dallas Mavericks still have much work to do.

That’s why Nowitzki wasn’t in a particularly jovial mood after Dallas claimed a 112-103 victory over Miami that gave them a 3-2 edge in the best-of-seven series.

“There’s really nothing to celebrate,” Nowitzki told reporters after the Mavericks went ahead in the series for the first time. “We’re going in there Sunday swinging, like we did today, from the jump, and hopefully steal one Sunday.”

The Mavericks will have a chance to wrap up their first NBA title in franchise history Sunday night in Miami, where the series returns for the rest of the games.

Nowitzki tallied 29 points, including the go-ahead dunk with 2:45 left that was a part of a clinching 17-4 run to finish the game.

The main reason for the triumph was Dallas’ blistering shooting. The Mavericks hit 56.5 percent from the field, including 13 of 19 (68 percent) from 3-point range.

Nowitzki’s game was supported by a strong contribution from his supporting cast. Jason Terry came off the bench to score eight of his 21 points in the fourth quarter. Five Dallas players  notched double-figure scoring efforts.

“It’s what I do. It’s my job,” Terry told reporters after the game. “All season long, ever since I’ve been a Maverick, I’ve been the guy in the fourth quarter they rely on to either make plays or make shots. Regardless of what’s going on throughout the three quarters of the game, in the fourth quarter I know I’m depended on to come through.”

Nowitzki chuckled when he heard  about Terry’s comments about his late-game exploits.

“We all know Jet is a confident young man,” Nowitzki said. “He always has a lot to say to us in the locker room. He’s always talking. He’s just an energetic guy. He loves to talk and he loves to hear himself talk.”

It pushes them closer than the Mavericks have ever been to a title, but they have to nail one down one more win to accomplish the ultimate goal.

“It’s not a best of five series; it’s a best of seven. So the first team to four wins,” Nowitzki said. “So we couldn’t celebrate tonight, even though it was a big win for us. The series is not over.”

STUDS

Dallas F Dirk Nowitzki: Went for 29 points, six rebounds, three assists and was plus-14 in the Mavericks’ 112-103 Game 5 victory over Miami.

Dallas G Jason Terry: Came off the bench to produce 21 points, four rebounds and six assists in the Mavericks’ comeback victory over the Heat.

Dallas G J.J. Barea: Tallied 17 points and five assists in the Mavericks’ triumph over Miami.

Dallas G Jason Kidd: Notched 13 points, six assists, three steals, two rebounds and was plus-13 in Dallas’ victory over Miami.

Dallas C Tyson Chandler: Produced 13 points, seven rebounds, two blocked shots and was plus-14 in the Mavericks’ victory over the Heat.

Dallas F Shawn Marion: Tallied eight points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and was a game-best plus-21 in the Mavericks’ victory over the Heat.

Miami G Dwyane Wade: Overcame a hip injury to produce a team-best 23 points, eight rebounds and two steals in Miami’s loss to Dallas.

Miami F Chris Bosh: Notched 19 points and 10 rebounds in the Heat’s loss to Dallas.

Miami G Mario Chalmers: Came off the bench to produce 15 points, including 4-for-6 from 3-point range, in the Heat’s loss to the Mavericks.

DUDS

Miami F LeBron James: Might have produced the quietest triple-double in NBA Finals history after scoring only two points in the fourth quarter when his team needed him to close. James was 8-for-19 from the field, missing all four 3-pointers, with four turnovers and was minus-11 in the Heat’s loss to Dallas.

Heat fade in 4th, lose home-court edge

By TIM REYNOLDS
Associated Press

MIAMI — From up by 15 points with 7 minutes left, to losing home-court advantage in the NBA finals.

In a season of challenges for the Miami Heat, here comes the biggest task — recovering after blowing a chance to take a two-game lead over the Dallas Mavericks.

Ahead 88-73 after Dwyane Wade made a 3-pointer with 7:14 left, Miami had the home fans roaring. Dirk Nowitzki’s game-winning layup with 3.6 seconds remaining left them silenced, and now all Dallas needs to do to win the NBA title is win three games on its home court, starting with Game 3 on Sunday night.

Final score: Mavs 95, Heat 93, and the Heat left in sheer disbelief. After that 3-pointer by Wade, Dallas closed the game on a 22-5 run.

Struggling to win close games was one of Miami’s biggest challenges all season. The Heat went 5-14 in games decided by five points or less in the regular season, but in the playoffs, fourth-quarter closeouts had become one of Miami’s calling cards.

The Heat had outscored teams in the fourth quarter of their last five playoff games.

Not on Thursday: Dallas outscored Miami 24-18 in the last 12 minutes, which was bad enough. How the Mavericks did it made it seem even worse for the Heat, who missed 10 of their last 11 shots.

That’s right, the Heat shot 53 percent in the first 41 minutes, and 9 percent the rest of the way. Mario Chalmers’ 3-pointer with 25 seconds left tied the game, but Nowitzki drove down the lane for the winner on Dallas’ final possession.

Wade tried a desperation 3-pointer at the end, bouncing away as he tumbled to the court, one of his rare missteps in a night where he finished with 36 points.

It’s the 12th time since the NBA went to the 2-3-2 finals format that teams split the opening two games. Teams holding home-court advantage recovered to win eight of the previous 11 series, including last year when the Lakers topped the Celtics in seven games.

Nowitzki leads late rally as Mavs tie series 1-1

By BRIAN MAHONEY
Associated Press

MIAMI — Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks put a stunning end to their misery in Miami.

Now they can win their first NBA title without ever coming back to South Florida.

Nowitzki made the tie-breaking layup with 3.6 seconds left, and the Mavericks roared back from 15 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Heat 95-93 on Thursday night and tie the NBA finals at one game apiece.

Capping a furious rally by scoring Dallas’ final nine points, Nowitzki made two late baskets left-handed — despite a torn tendon on that non-shooting hand. He finished with 24 points.

Dwyane Wade had 36 points for Miami, but his desperation 3-pointer was off at the buzzer.

“I thought defensively we really got into them,” Nowitzki said of the rally. “We pressured them full court and we scrambled defensively. We even gave up some offensive rebounds, but we kept scrambling.”

Game 3 is Sunday in Dallas.

Seemingly out of the game when the Heat led 88-73 with 7:15 remaining, Dallas held the Heat to just one field goal from there, a 3-pointer by Mario Chalmers with 24.5 seconds that tied it just 2 seconds after Nowitzki’s 3 had made it 93-90.

But after a timeout, Jason Kidd ran the clock down before getting the ball to Nowitzki, who drove into the lane, spun back to the left and made the layup.

Jason Terry, largely silent since the first half of Game 1, fueled the comeback with a couple of jumpers and finished with 16 points. Shawn Marion had 20 points for the Mavericks, who had lost four straight finals games in Miami since taking a 2-0 lead in the 2006 series.

They were about to go down 2-0 this time before Nowitzki, who insisted his injured finger wouldn’t hinder him, led a rally even more amazing than the one that won Game 4 of the Western Conference finals, when the Mavs trailed Oklahoma City by 15 in the fourth quarter before pulling it out in overtime.

LeBron James scored 20 points for the Heat.

He and Wade were running by and over the older Mavs for three quarters, and it appeared the only thing that could slow them down was that big trophy they would soon be holding.

Not so fast.

Wade angered the Mavs, particularly Terry, when he held his follow through after his 3-pointer from the corner with 7:15 left capped a 13-0 run and made it 88-73.

The Heat suddenly went cold, holding the ball too long on possessions and forcing James and Wade to attempt long jumpers with the shot clock winding down, instead of playing to their strengths and driving into the lane.

A series of those missed jumpers eventually ended with the Mavs getting possession, and Nowitzki making a layup that tied it at 90 with 57 seconds to play.

The Heat lost for the first time in 10 games at home in the playoffs and will have to win at least once in Dallas to force the series back here.