The Dallas Mavericks used a storming late run to move to the brink of their first NBA title with a 112-103 victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday.
With a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Finals, Dallas can now claim the crown by winning one of the two remaining contests, but they will have to complete the feat in Miami, where the teams split the opening two games.
The Mavericks went on a 15-3 run to finish off the Heat, turning a three-point deficit into the comfortable victory amid chants of “Beat the Heat” from a boisterous crowd of 20,433.
“That was a big win for us, obviously,” said Dirk Nowitzki, who paced the Mavericks with 29 points. “We didn’t want to go to Miami and give them basically two shots to close us out.
“So we kept plugging there in the fourth. And now we have to go down there and basically approach Sunday’s game as Game Seven. You don’t want to give this great team any hope.”
Sharpshooting guard Jason Terry had a pair of three-pointers during the game-ending run, finishing with 21 points on eight-of-12 shooting and adding six assists.
Dallas shot 57 percent, including an eyebrow-raising 13 of 19 from beyond the arc. Terry was three for five from long range, draining two of those bombs during the late-game run.
“All season long, ever since I’ve been a Maverick, I’ve been the guy in the fourth quarter they depended on to either make plays or make shots,” said Terry.
“So I really relish that role. Regardless of what’s going on throughout three quarters of the game, in the fourth quarter I know I’m depended on to come through.
“Thank God I was able to do that again tonight.”
LeBron James disappeared once again in the fourth quarter, tallying only two points. The former NBA scoring champion and two-times MVP has now amassed a combined 11 points in the final quarter of the entire series.
James was blanked in the final frame of Tuesday’s 86-83 Mavericks victory, and while he was more aggressive on Thursday, he had similar results.
“We as a team, we played good enough to win again,” said James, who scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds and 10 assists. “Put ourself in position to win down the stretch.
“Guys made plays. They just made a few more than we did. That’s what it came down to.”
