This one was about more than Dirk

DALLAS — The Mavericks are so used to coming back against the Miami Heat that it may have stunned them to hold a 95-90 lead with 6:48 left in the fourth quarter. What followed in front of a deafening crowd at American Airlines Center will be talked about for the next 50 years in North Texas, maybe longer.

Dallas turned to its most potent weapon, the 3-pointer, to pull away from the Heat, 112-103, and take a 3-2 series lead in the NBA Finals. This wasn't a Game 7, but don't tell that to Mavs fans who roared as guards Jason Terry and Jason Kidd knocked down clutch 3-pointers in the final minutes.

For one night, it wasn't about Dirk Nowitzki having to lug his teammates on his back, although his resounding dunk with 2:45 left gave the Mavs a 102-100 lead. Dallas finally broke through with one of those lethal shooting nights that had come so often against the Lakers and Thunder. The Mavs shot 65.7 percent from the field in the first half and didn't cool off much the rest of the game. They hit a ridiculous 68.4 percent (13 of 19) of their 3-pointers. Terry, among others, had talked about how the Mavs would break out of their shooting slump, but it was hard to envision when each team kept scoring in the 80s. Now it feels like the dam may have broken. The Heat will have home-court advantage, but it's not like the Mavs fear going on the road. They didn't lose a road game in the previous two series, and they won Game 2 of the Finals in Miami.

Much will be made of Dwyane Wade's hip injury in Game 5, but it's not like the Heat wilted when he was in the locker room. Wade had told reporters Thursday that Nowitzki was a great player without all the "dramatics," but Wade showed his own versatility when he collapsed near the bench and left the game for several minutes. He didn't start the second half, but he was on the court to deliver a dagger 3-pointer with 4:37 left in the fourth quarter that gave the Heat a 99-95 lead. He punctuated the 3-pointer by taking an exaggerated stomp and 20,433 fans fell silent. During the ensuing timeout, Nowitzki reminded his teammates to stay with the plan.

"It was big, I think, when we were down four, the next offense I was able to get in the lane, get a pump fake, get to the free-throw line, kind of settle everybody down and make it a two-point game," Nowitzki said. "And I thought that was big for us not to shoot a bad jumper and they go down in transition again."

The Mavs trailed the Heat, 100-97, after a Chris Bosh free throw with 3:38 to play. On the other end, Nowitzki found Terry for a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the circle. LeBron James, who once again disappeared in the fourth quarter, missed a jumper and Nowitzki ignited the crowd by racing past Bosh on the baseline and slamming the ball with two hands despite a torn tendon in his left middle finger. The Heat never recovered.

Terry penetrated deep into the paint and then whipped a pass out to Jason Kidd at the 3-point line. Kidd nailed the shot to give the Mavs a 105-100 lead with 1:26 left. Terry delivered the knockout blow with 33.8 seconds left when he never hesitated on a 3-pointer from 26-feet to give the Mavs a 108-101 lead. With the way this series has gone, it was an odd sight to see the ball in anyone but Nowitzki's hands with the game on the line. But Terry relishes those moments and he's now outscored James 16-2 in the fourth quarter of the past two games. Not that anyone's counting, of course. For one night, the 3-point shooting of Kidd, Terry and J.J. Barea pretty much overwhelmed the Heat. Miami was a strong 8 of 20 from the arc, but it wasn't enough.

Nowitzki finished with a game-high 29 points, eight of which came in the fourth quarter. Four of his teammates finished in double figures, with Terry and Barea combining for 38 points. This is the team that blitzed its way through the first three rounds of the playoffs. On the league's biggest stage, it's been mostly about Nowitzki. But the Mavs closed as a team Thursday.

"There's no set formula, other than we need each other," said Carlisle. "And we need to play a certain way, and we need to play with a certain collective intelligence and will. And the defense has got to be tight. So we were able to do a lot of things tonight, and I think that's why we won."

Though they're not going to admit it publicly, I believe the Heat are stunned to be trailing 3-2 in this series. And while playing in front of the home crowd is nice, it doesn't guarantee anything.

There's a chance this Heat team will win multiple titles, but you get the feeling this season's run is about to end.