The Dallas Mavericks couldn’t dig themselves out of another large deficit on Sunday night, losing 88-86 to the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Miami scored six unanswered points to start the second half, giving them a double digit lead yet again. The Mavericks, though, steadily cut into Miami’s lead and at one point went on a 17-3 run to take the lead from Miami.
With the game tied at 86 in the fourth quarter, Chris Bosh hit a jump shot to give the Heat a lead with under a minute to go. Dirk Nowitzki, though, had an uncharacteristic turnover on the ensuing possession, giving the ball back to the Heat with 30 seconds to go.
The Mavericks defense would come up big, not allowing Miami to score. With 4.4 seconds left to go, the Mavericks called time out and drew up a play. Nowitzki missed a fade away jumpshot as time expired, giving the Heat a Game 3 victory and 2-1 series advantage.
Nowitzki was brilliant yet again, despite the loss. The German scored 34 points, including the last 10 points for the Mavericks in the fourth quarter. Nowitzki also grabbed 11 rebounds, tying for the team high with Tyson Chandler. Nowitzki was also a team high +12 for the game as well, with Peja Stojakovic bringing up the rear for the Mavericks, going -11 in just six minutes of play.
Jason Terry finished second for the Mavericks in points, scoring 15, which sheds a bit of light on how little help Nowitzki received in Game 3.
The Mavericks will look to even the series up in Game 4, which will take place on Tuesday night in Dallas.