The heat is on . . . the Dallas Mavericks.
That’s because on Sunday the Miami Heat grabbed on to Dwyane Wade’s growing legend and rode it to a thrilling 101-100 overtime victory over the Mavericks to take a 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals. Game 6 is Tuesday night in Dallas.
“My will,” Wade said of his fadeaway shot to send the game into overtime and two free throws with 1.9 seconds left that give the Heat the victory.
“There was no question in my mind I was going to make ’em,” he added. “There was no question in my teammates’ minds I was going to step up and make ’em.”
Wade finished with 43 points, hitting a Finals-record 21 of 25 free throws. He scored the Heat’s last 11 points in regulation and the first basket in overtime for 13 straight.
“I look at it as two different games,” said Wade, who was 3-for-13 in the first half as Miami fell behind 51-43 and then trailed much of the fourth quarter. “The first game was a bad game. The second half, my teammates needed me to step up.”
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Wade did, just as he did in the last minutes of Game 3 to save the series for Miami. Wade outscored the Mavs down the stretch of that game 12-7 as he had 42 points to rally the Heat from the verge of playoff extinction in the last 6 minutes 34 seconds.
Miami then evened the series Thursday with a 98-74 blowout that included a hard hit from Jerry Stackhouse on Shaquille O’Neal that resulted in a suspension for Stackhouse. But the Mavs responded brilliantly until some crucial mistakes down the stretch Sunday. Josh Howard missed two free throws with 36.8 seconds left and the Mavs leading 98-97.
For Howard, who had 25 points, those were the only free throws he missed in the game. He finished 9-for-11. Dirk Nowitzki had 20 points and what appeared briefly to be the winner–a high-arcing jumper with 9.1 seconds left for a 100-99 lead. Jason Terry carried the Mavs with 35 points.
But it was Wade driving and splitting the Mavericks’ double-teaming pressure, stepping through Nowitzki–he’s been doing that to the chagrin of the Dallas coaching staff all series–and then drawing the foul with 1.9 seconds left.
Wade made the first free throw and officials charged Dallas a timeout, even though Mavs coach Avery Johnson argued he didn’t want one until after Wade’s second attempt. The officials huddled, then gave the Mavs their last timeout, preventing them from inbounding the ball at half-court after Wade’s second shot.
Thus Devin Harris threw up a wild, desperation heave at the buzzer and the Mavs walked off dejectedly.
“Dallas plays well at home,” Wade said. “But we’re a confident bunch.”
The Heat joined the 2004 Pistons as the only teams to win the middle three games in the 2-3-2 Finals format. It marked the second straight year Game 5 went to overtime with the series tied 2-2. Last year, though, the visiting Spurs won the overtime game and finally prevailed in Game 7.
It was a classic battle down the stretch with the Mavs purposely fouling Shaquille O’Neal, who had 18 points and 12 rebounds but made only 2 of 12 free throws.
“Thinking too much,” O’Neal explained. TV cameras showed his wife putting her head in her hands and hiding her eyes as he shot free throws and his father pantomiming a shooting motion.
O’Neal missed three (one after a lane violation) with 2:44 left and the Mavs up 86-84. Howard then drove and made two free throws, but Wade followed with a drive and three-point play to bring the Heat within 88-87. Wade then gave Miami a lead on a drive past Harris before Nowitzki evened the game with one of two free throws.
Wade shot over Harris for a 91-89 lead with a minute left, but Nowitzki, shooting poorly in the three games in Miami, hit a turnaround to tie the game 91-91. Nowitzki then worked a wonderful and surprise pick-and-roll with Erick Dampier for a slam and 93-91 lead with 10.1 seconds left. That gave Wade plenty of time for his tying shot.
In the overtime, O’Neal hit a short jumper on a pass from James Posey for a 97-95 lead with just over three minutes left. Dampier then made one of two free throws. With a chance to get a three-point edge with 54 seconds left, Howard missed both free throws. Gary Payton then hit a high bank shot on a drive down the left side for a 99-98 lead with 29.8 seconds left before Nowitzki’s high-arching shot and Wade’s pressure free throws.
“That’s what Dwyane is,” Heat coach Pat Riley said. “He’s so committed. He’s a great free-throw shooter. He’s just a winner. [The Mavericks] played a great game. They did everything they could to win. Now it’s our job in a very hostile environment to go down there and do something this franchise has never done.”
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