Heat at Mavericks
THE STORY: The NBA Finals has provided a good amount of drama through the first two games. The scene now shifts to Dallas as the Mavericks prepare to host Game 3 Sunday night against the reeling Miami Heat. Dallas rallied from a late deficit with a game-ending 22-5 run that evened the best-of-seven series at a win apiece.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ABC, TSN
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS: Dwyane Wade's corner 3-pointer with just over seven minutes remaining gave the Heat a 15-point lead in Game 2, and the celebrations began immediately. As the Mavericks soon proved, the festivities may have begun a little too early. Jason Terry scored eight quick points during a 15-2 run that trimmed the lead to two points, and Dirk Nowitzki hit three big shots down the stretch - capped by the go-ahead layup with 3.6 seconds left. Nowitzki hit that shot with the same left hand that sported a balky splint thanks to a torn finger tendon. With the momentum squarely in the Mavericks' court, Dallas can seize control of the series with a win Sunday.
ABOUT THE HEAT: LeBron James denied that his team had begun celebrating prematurely after Wade's three-pointer - and subsequent pose - in front of the Dallas bench. Whatever the case, Miami's dynamic duo failed to close out the game, missing four 3-pointers down the stretch while failing to create the same easy baskets that helped them carve out a double-digit lead against the Mavericks. Miami made just one field goal in the last seven minutes, a 3-pointer from Mario Chalmers that tied the game with 24.5 seconds left and set the stage for Nowitzki's game-winning shot. It was Miami's first home loss in the postseason.
WHO'S HOT/WHO'S NOT: Nowitzki showed no ill effects of the splint on his left hand, scoring 24 points and adding 11 rebounds in the Game 2 victory. Miami F Chris Bosh had a game to forget, shooting just 4 of 16 from the floor and getting beaten badly on Nowitzki's game-winning shot.
KEY STATISTIC: 30 - The number of 3-pointers Miami attempted in Game 2. That total accounted for more than 40 percent of the Heat's total shots.
LAST WORD: "First of all, every team in the league, when they go on a run, they do something, whether it’s a signal, whether it’s a chest bump. It’s a part of the game of basketball. A celebration is confetti, champagne bottles." - Wade, responding to assertions he and James were a little too celebratory following his fourth-quarter 3-pointer.