Nowitzki's miss alters storyline of series

DALLAS — The arena had tensed with the hope of the moment, a sea of blue believing as it held its breath and the ball left Dirk Nowitzki's hand.

In Miami, where a sea breeze surely blew across homes of nervous fans and even South Beach's bars could be believed to have gone silent, the overwhelming feeling would have been dread: of a ball through a net, of a tie score with time expiring, of overtime serving as a prelude to more heartache.

The ball arced toward all of this, toward another chance to pound the Miami Heat into submission, toward another Dallas Mavericks comeback in these playoffs after being down 14 points, toward more proof that the Heat are frail and fraudulent once they've been rattled or knocked down.

The ball arced toward the inevitable.

And then the inevitable failed to materialize.

Instead, in a Game 3 both teams called crucial, Nowitzki's missed jumper left a simple conclusion Sunday for a Heat team that has learned from past failures how not to fail in the biggest of moments: They are two mere wins away from crowning themselves champions.

Heat 88, Mavericks 86.

"We felt this was a must win," Dwyane Wade said afterward. "We had to put it upon ourselves to try to take home court back, in a sense, by any means necessary."

That's because it was a game on which legacies may have hinged, from LeBron James' to Dirk's. And it was Wade, more than anyone, who pushed the pendulum yet again in Miami's favor at the expense of the Mavericks.

Wade scored seven points in the final 6 minutes and 31 seconds. He ended the night with 29 points and 11 rebounds and hit a huge 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, and it was his relentless attacking early in the game -- along with LeBron's –- that set a tempo Dallas couldn't quite match.

"He pushed himself," Chris Bosh said. "He played spectacular basketball. We rode the wave for a while. He set the tone for us."

A tone that included Miami dominating the points in the paint with a 40-22 edge and scoring 19 points off turnovers.

"We have to take care of the ball against this team," said Mavericks guard Jason Kidd, who committed four of the Mavericks' 14 miscues. "Make or miss shots, you can't just give these guys easy layups on the other end. That's what they're doing to us right now."

For Miami, the game was key in ways beyond the obvious. Yes, the Heat desperately hoped to reclaim home-court advantage and take a 2-1 series lead after squandering Game 2 in Miami.

But just as much, the Heat needed to show they had shed their tendency to let the bad times linger. They needed to show all the growth seen in this playoff run was not a mirage, not some beautiful image for the people of South Florida that could be flicked away with a moment's dose of reality.

"I believe in this team," Wade said. "If anyone can do it, I believe we can."

As if to drive home the point, it was Bosh who took the ball in the final minute with the score tied. He elevated. His left eye, red and tear-soaked from getting poked earlier, looked as ugly and off as Bosh's night had been to that point.

Bosh shot the ball, his 6-of-17 mark for the night forgotten. And when the ball went through the net with 39.6 seconds left, his night to that point was not just forgotten. It was erased.

Never mind his 18 points or his measly three rebounds. Chris Bosh had just hit what would become the winning shot. Wade had passed to LeBron, LeBron had believed enough to pass to Bosh, and Bosh had hit the biggest shot of his life.

"We trust each other," Bosh said. "Our guys have been doing a fantastic job of showing that trust, especially in crunch-time situations."

For Dallas, the night was a painful reminder that there are only so many times you can dare a team to be lackadaisical with a lead.

"I don't know how many times we climbed out of holes, but it's just always going to make the game harder," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said.

All night, as Miami extended leads and then watched them shrink, the two teams battled with grueling defense. But it was the Mavericks more than the Heat who saw their options outside of their star player fade.

Mavericks players not named Dirk Nowitzki shot 35 percent from the field.

Past Dirk's marvelous 34-point outing were lackluster performances that sealed the loss as much as Miami's fortitude produced a win: Jason Terry with 15 points on a 5-of-13 shooting night; J.J. Barea with another awful night, this one a 2-of-8 shooting effort; Shawn Marion 4 of 12 from the field with only 10 points.

On and on it went.

"We didn't really give him much help, and I take that on my shoulders," Terry said.

"We would like to make it easier for him," Carlisle said.

"I thought we had our opportunities and just weren't good enough," Dirk said diplomatically. "You have to give them credit. Their defense is pretty good."

Give them credit for this too: The Heat are no longer frail (and, yes, they were earlier in the season) or fraudulent when facing adversity.

They have grown into a championship-worthy team, just as Dallas has.

But only one can claim the trophy this season. Only LeBron or Dirk can feel the sweet relief of cementing his place in the game, of stamping his own personal greatness with a championship.

And right now, it's Miami with a 2-1 lead and, again, the momentum.

The series is long, as everyone said Sunday night. But it's getting shorter in a hurry.

"This is a tough loss," Dirk said. "And it's basically a must-win situation on Tuesday. We can't go down 3-1."

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