Mavericks turn up heat on Miami at home

Dirk Nowitzki hit the decisive layup with 3.6 seconds remaining as the Dallas Mavericks rallied from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Miami Heat 95-93 in game two of the NBA finals. Nowitzki finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Mavericks, who levelled the series at 1-1 and handed the Heat their first loss at home in this post-season. "What a huge swing that was," Nowitzki said. "It was a huge comeback. We never gave up." Nowitzki, who played through an injured finger on his left hand, got open and drove past Miami's Chris Bosh on the winning basket for the easy layup in front of a crowd of 20,003 at the AmericanAirlines arena. Dallas' come-from-behind win also spoiled a 36-point performance by Miami's Dwyane Wade. Miami had been sending two men to cover Nowitzki for most of the series but chose not to with the game on the line. They also decided not to try and foul and send Nowitzki to the free throw line where he is a perfect 15-for-15 in this series. "I drove a little earlier than I normally would have," said Nowitzki. "I was able to drive the basket and make the play." Germany's Nowitzki tore a tendon in the middle finger on his left hand in game one and is wearing a splint for protection. "I got caught up trying to cut off his drive and that's what he wanted," Bosh said. "For a split-second I just played bad defence. It cost us two points." The series now shifts to Dallas for game three on Sunday. The Heat led 75-71 at the end of the third quarter then extended it to 88-73 in the fourth quarter and appeared to be en route to their 10th consecutive win at home in these playoffs when they hit a wall. "We are not happy about this," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Offensively if we could have executed and moved the ball we might have been able to stem the tide." LeBron James finished with at least 20 points for the sixth playoff game in a row but couldn't hit a late basket, unlike game one when he carried the Heat on his back down the stretch. Said Bosh, "I don't know what happened. We were playing against the shot clock pretty much the whole end of the fourth quarter." Shawn Marion finished with 20 points and eight rebounds. He and Nowitzki got plenty of help from the supporting cast Thursday as four Mavericks finished in double figures. Guard Jason Kidd also had six points and eight assists. "We were down 15 and then went on a 4-0 run," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "We have been down big a couple of times in the playoffs and we have shown the ability to come back." This year's final is a rematch of the 2006 NBA championship, which Miami took in six games for their first title in franchise history. Dallas have never won the NBA championship in the 31 years they have been in the league. There was a video tribute to Shaquille O'Neal with three minutes left in the first quarter, showing him holding the NBA championship trophy when he and Wade led Miami to the title five years ago. O'Neal announced his retirement Wednesday after 19 brilliant seasons in the NBA that netted him four NBA championship rings. Dallas raised their physical play a notch Thursday and the Heat responded in kind with plenty of pushing and shoving under the baskets and one-on-one battles for loose balls. The Mavericks wanted to get more production out of their supporting cast and it worked Thursday, including from guard DeShawn Stevenson. He was able to provide the added energy and muscle from the opening tip-off that was missing when the Heat pushed the Mavericks around in game one. Stevenson shot three-of-six from the field and finished with nine points. But Carlisle was most impressed with the gutsy performance by Nowitzki. "You play and you play if you are feeling pain," he said. "You make yourself numb so you don't feel the pain. You've got to play and you've got to be a warrior."