Don't call it a comeback.
After three and a half quarters of dunk after dunk, gave the Miami Heat a commanding 88-73 lead with only 7:15 left on the clock. The Dallas Mavericks, Dirk Nowitzki in particular, took the game over with a furious rally capped by a left-handed lay-up by Dirk with 3.6 seconds left. He had the Mavericks final nine points, including a 3-pointer on the possession before to give Dallas a 93-90 lead.
Mario Chalmers, of all people, would answer with a 3-pointer of his own to tie the game before Dirk's game winner. Dwyane Wade missed a buzzer beater from just a few steps inside half-court as time expired. Despite the miss, Wade was spectacular was 36 points.He wasn't complimented as well as usual by the rest of the big three. LeBron James finished with a quiet 20 points and eight rebounds. Chris Bosh only had 12 points and 8 rebounds.
For the Mavericks, Dirk led the charge with 24 points. Shawn Marion had another strong game, finishing with 20 points and carrying the Mavericks offense for stretches in the second half before Dirk took over. Jason Terry had 16 points, despite not hitting any three point attempts.
Game 3 is Sunday night in Dallas. This was Miami's first home loss of the playoffs.
The series schedule and TV information are below.
- Game 1: Miami 92, Dallas 84.
- Game 2: Dallas 95, Miami 93
- Game 3: Sun., June 5 in Dallas, 8 p.m. (ABC)
- Game 4: Tue., June 7 in Dallas, 9 p.m. (ABC)
- Game 5: Thu., June 9 in Dallas, 9 p.m. (ABC)
- Game 6: Sun., June 12 in Miami, 8 p.m. (ABC)
- Game 7: Tue., June 14 in Miami, 9 p.m. (ABC)
Follow SB Nation's 2011 NBA Finals hub for full series coverage. See Peninsula Is Mightier to join the discussion with Heat fans, and Mavs Moneyball to join the discussion with Mavericks fans.