DALLAS MAVERICKS NBA Champs 2010-11; Mavs Win NBA Finals 4-2

		1	2	3	4	F
	DAL	32	21	28	24	105
	MIA	27	24	21	23	95
	DALLAS MAVERICKS WIN NBA FINALS 4-2

05/31		Mavericks	84	-	92	Heat		-	Recap-Highlights
06/02		Mavericks	95	-	93	Heat		-	Recap-Highlights
06/05		Heat	88	-	86	Mavericks		-	Recap-Highlights
06/07		Heat	83	-	86	Mavericks		-	Recap-Highlights
06/09		Heat	103	-	112	Mavericks		-	Recap-Highlights
06/12		Mavericks	105	-	95	Heat		-	Recap-Highlights

Really Big D: Mavericks top Heat for NBA title

By TIM REYNOLDS
Posted Jun 12 2011

MIAMI (AP) For Dirk Nowitzki, the resume is complete. He's an NBA champion.

For LeBron James, the agonizing wait continues for at least one more year.

Avenging what happened five years ago in perfect turnabout style, the Dallas Mavericks won their first NBA title by winning Game 6 of these finals in Miami 105-95 on Sunday night - celebrating on the Heat's home floor, just as Dwyane Wade and his team did to them in the 2006 title series.

Jason Terry scored 27 points, Nowitzki added 21 and the Mavericks topped the Miami Heat 105-95 in Game 6 of the NBA finals on Sunday night. The Mavericks won four of the series' last five games, a turnabout that could not have been sweeter after seeing the Heat celebrate their first title in Dallas after Game 6 of the 2006 finals.

"Tonight," Terry said, "we got vindication."

James did not. Not even close, and a year unlike any other ended they way they all have so far - with him still waiting for an NBA title.

He scored 21 points for Miami, shook a few hands afterward, and departed before most of the Mavs tugged on their championship hats and T-shirts. Chris Bosh had 19, Mario Chalmers 18 and Dwyane Wade 17 for the Heat.

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle joined a highly elite group, those with NBA titles as both a player and a head coach. Only 10 other men are on that list, including the presumably retired-for-good Phil Jackson, one of Carlisle's mentors in K.C. Jones, and Heat President Pat Riley - who led Miami past Dallas in 2006, and was the mastermind of what the Heat did last summer by getting James, Wade and Bosh on the same team with an eye on becoming a dynasty.

It might still happen, of course.

But even after 72 wins this season, including playoffs, the Heat lost the last game. And that means this year was a disappointment - except to just about everyone else in the NBA, or so it would seem.

Hating the Heat became the NBA's craze this season, and the team knew it had no shortage of critics, everyone from Cleveland (where "Cavs for Mavs" shirts were popular during these finals) to Chicago (the city James and Wade both flirted with last summer) and just about every place in between lining up to take shots at Miami.

Given their newfound popularity, meet the new America's Team.

Sorry, Cowboys - your long-held moniker might have to be ceded to your city's NBA club. When it was over, Mavs owner Mark Cuban ran onto the court to hug Carlisle, then punched the air and whooped.

Dallas took control in the second half after some wild back-and-forths in the opening two quarters. Miami took its last lead of the game - the season - just 64 seconds into the second half, lost it 16 seconds later and chased the Mavericks the rest of the way.

They never caught them.

Jason Kidd, at 38 years old, got his first championship. Nowitzki got his at 32, Terry at 33. They were featured on the video screen in their building in Dallas during this series on what seemed like a constant loop, each posing with the NBA trophy and looking longingly at it, standing mere inches from it, as if to say "so close, yet so far away."

No more.

It's theirs.

Nowitzki sealed it with 2:27 left, hitting a jumper near the Miami bench to put Dallas up 99-89, and some fans actually began leaving. Nowitzki walked to the Mavs' side slowly, right fist clenched and aloft.

He knew it. Everyone did. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra implored his team to foul in the final minute, and even then, they couldn't catch the Mavericks.

"All those unique individual stories is what propelled us to this victory," Terry said.

Dallas expected a big early push from Miami, and the Mavs' suspicions were proved correct. James made his first four shots, and the Heat raced out to a 20-11 lead.

It was erased - and then some - quickly, as soon as Dallas went to the zone defense that befuddled Miami again.

Dallas needed 5 1/2 minutes to rip off a 21-4 run, making 9 of 12 shots during the stretch. And much of that came with Nowitzki on the bench with two fouls, the first time he's been whistled for more than one in the opening quarter of a playoff game this season.

The Mavs were off and running. DeShawn Stevenson made a pair of 3-pointers within a span of 24 seconds to give Dallas a 40-28 lead with 9:42 left in the half. Dallas turned Miami's first six turnovers into 14 points, and the hundreds of blue-clad Mavs fans stood and roared, with Cuban waving his arms as if to lead the cheers from behind his team's bench.

Things turned quickly and got heated for good measure.

Miami scored the next 14 points to reclaim the lead at 42-40, a streak snapped only after Stevenson, Udonis Haslem and Chalmers got technicals with 6:25 left in the half after a midcourt mini-melee with mostly amounted to some words and a couple of shoves.

"A player will not automatically be suspended for leaving the bench if he has already left the bench because a timeout was called," the NBA announced later in the game. "However, we need to review the circumstances of this particular incident, which we will do, after the game."

So the NBA will watch replays.

The Heat, they probably won't - not for a long while. They had chances to take command and wasted them all. The Heat missed 13 of their 33 free throws, let the Mavericks score 27 points off turnovers and simply could not get a rebound in the final minutes.

Nowitzki finished 9 for 27, and the Mavs still won. He was 1 for 12 in the first half, and they were still ahead, 53-51, thanks largely to Terry's 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting, along with a 17-4 edge in points off turnovers.

Plus, after James got off to such a fast start, he had two points in the final 19-plus minutes of the half.

James didn't score in the second half until a layup with 1:49 remained in the third - his first field-goal attempt since 1:05 remained in the half. Kidd made a 3-pointer late in the period, pushing the Dallas lead to 79-71, and it seemed like the only people standing in the arena were the players, referees, Cuban and a few guys around the Dallas bench.

It was 81-72 entering the fourth, after Ian Mahinmi made a foul-line jumper as time expired in the third, just his third basket of the entire series.

None were bigger.

The Mavs could taste a title.

When the Mavericks took a 2-0 lead in Dallas during the '06 finals, plans for their victory parade were announced. The Mavs didn't win another game in that series.

Now, that parade will finally happen. And when it's over, then the league's uncertainty will truly begin. Labor strife likely awaits, and although more talks geared toward movement on a new deal are scheduled for this week, both owners and players are bracing for a lockout to begin once the current collective bargaining agreement expires June 30.

What happens with the next deal may affect the Heat more than anyone. Some owners will insist on a hard cap, rolled-back salaries and, potentially, trying to bust some current deals - which could break up the Big 3 before get another chance to win a title together.

A gloomy end to the season may bring an even gloomier offseason for Miami.

"Every situation has felt like it was an our-back-against-the-wall situation," James said Sunday morning, hours before Game 6 began. "We've been able to figure it out and find our way through and scratch our way through. This is the last test. This is the last pop quiz for us that we need to pass in order to make it all worth it."

They didn't pass. So therefore, it wasn't all worth it. Except, of course, from the Dallas perspective.

Of the principal characters from the 2006 series, only Cuban, Nowitzki and Terry remain from the Mavericks' side, and for them, the beginning of this championship celebration seemed sweeter than even they could have imagined. Terry won't have to get his tattoo - the one of the NBA championship trophy - removed, which he vowed to have done if Miami won this series. Nowitzki will never be in the conversation of 'Best player without a title' again.

James is clearly the one with that most-unwanted label now.

NOTES: Carlisle improved to 11-3 as a coach with a chance to close out an opponent. ... James got a 21-minute rest in the second quarter in real time, thanks to that midcourt dustup and the referees taking several minutes to look at replays before doling out the technicals. ... Marc Anthony sang the national anthem, then took a courtside seat near the Heat bench.

Dallas Takes a 3-2 Lead in the NBA Finals

		1	2	3	4	F
	MIA	31	26	22	24	103
	DAL	30	30	24	28	112
	DALLAS leads  3-2

Heat-Mavericks notebook

By Dave Ivey, for NBA.com
Posted Friday June 9, 2011

THE FACTS: Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks are one win away from the first championship in franchise history following Thursday's 112-103 defeat of the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Nowitzki had 29 points and Jason Terry scored eight of his 21 points during a game-ending 17-4 run that gave the Mavericks a 3-2 lead as the series returns to Miami.

Dwyane Wade fought through a first-half hip injury to lead the Heat with 23 points and Chris Bosh added 19 points and 10 rebounds. LeBron James recorded a triple-double with 17 points, 10 assists and 10 boards, but scored just two points in the pivotal fourth quarter. Five players scored in double digits for each team in what was by far the highest-scoring game of the series.

QUOTABLE: "We're going to play whistle to whistle. I heard that term. Been watching the hockey series. A lot of people in the hockey world use that term, and that's what we're going to do. We're going to try to win each possession and just take it one at a time."
-- Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle

THE STAT: The Mavericks shot a remarkable 68.4 percent (13-for-19) from 3-point distance to offset a 36-26 disadvantage on the boards. Six Dallas players canned at least one trey, led by J.J. Barea (4-for-5), Terry (3-for-5) and Jason Kidd (3-for-5).

TURNING POINT: After Wade sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put Miami up 99-95 with 4:37 remaining, the Heat didn't make another field goal until James' layup with 29.6 seconds left. Dallas tied it at 100-100 on Terry's wide-open 3-pointer, then took the lead for good when Nowitzki drove the baseline for a dunk at the 2:45 mark.

QUOTABLE II: "JET was phenomenal. He was aggressive again from the get-go. ... That's the JET we need. We need him to attack and get in the lane. It opens up a lot of stuff for everybody else out there."
-- Nowitzki on Terry

QUOTABLE III: "We'll have to see how it responds tomorrow. When he's able to sweat and keep it warm, he was fine. Fortunately, we have an extra day. We'll see if that's enough."
-- Miami coach Erik Spoelstra on the left hip contusion suffered by Wade when he collided with Dallas forward Brian Cardinal in the first quarter.

HOT: The Mavericks shot 66 percent in the first half (23-for-35). They were 5-for-7 from 3-point range, with five different players each connecting once, and held a 60-57 lead at intermission. In the first four games of this series, Dallas averaged just 45.5 first-half points with a high of 51 in Game 2. Tyson Chandler was 4-for-5 in the half, Terry was 4-for-6 and Nowitzki was 6-for-9.

NOT: James sent out a "Now or Never!!" tweet on Wednesday and called this the biggest game of his career. He was more aggressive, but his shooting struggles continued. He was 8-for-19 from the field, including 0-for-4 behind the arc. During the three games played in Dallas, the two-time NBA MVP shot 38.6 percent from the field (17-for-44) and was 1-for-11 from 3-point territory.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Faces in the crowd at the AAC included former Dallas Cowboys running backs Tony Dorsett and Daryl "Moose" Johnston, Cowboys receiver Miles Austin, race-car driver Danica Patrick and actor/comedian Norm MacDonald.

GOOD MOVE: The Mavericks won their second straight game since moving Barea into the starting lineup ahead of DeShawn Stevenson. Barea finished with 17 points, five assists and just one turnover in more than 25 minutes. He scored a team-high eight points in the third quarter and scored six of the Mavs' first nine points in the fourth with a three-point play and his fourth 3-pointer of the game.

BAD MOVE: Miami's 18 turnovers led to 21 points for the Mavericks. Each member of the "Big Three" -- James, Bosh and Wade -- committed four turnovers.

NOTABLE: Of the previous 26 times the NBA Finals have been tied 2-2, the winner of Game 5 has gone on to win the series 19 times. ... This was the 52nd and final home game of the season at the American Airlines Center, where Dallas was 29-12 in the regular season and 9-2 in the playoffs. The Mavericks sold out all 52 contests. ... This caps an eight-month stretch in which the Dallas area hosted the World Series, Super Bowl and NBA Finals. ... Backup Mavs center Brendan Haywood was inactive with a strained right hip flexor. He also missed Game 3 and played just 3:05 in Game 4. ... Dallas had 23 assists and is 10-0 in the postseason when dishing 20 or more. ... This is Miami's first losing streak since it dropped five straight from Feb. 27-March 8.

NBA Finals Game 4 - Ailing Nowitzki lifts Mavericks, NBA finals tied 2-2

		1	2	3	4	F
	MIA	21	26	22	14	83
	DAL	21	24	20	21	86
	Series Tied 2-2

James & Wade say "Oh No!"

Ailing Nowitzki lifts Mavericks, NBA finals tied

By JAIME ARON

Posted Jun 07 2011

DALLAS (AP) Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks have pulled off another stunning comeback, tying the NBA finals at two games each.

And this time, Nowitzki did it while battling the flu.

Nowitzki shook off three poor quarters to score 10 of his 21 points in the final period as the Mavericks outscored the Miami Heat 21-9 over the final 10:12 for an 86-83 victory in a memorable Game 4 Tuesday night.

The Mavs avoided going down 3-1, a deficit no team has ever overcome in the finals, and guaranteed the series will return to Miami for a Game 6 on Sunday night.

"We just played with incredible heart and passion," Dallas center Tyson Chandler said.

Dwyane Wade scored 32 points, but fumbled an inbounds pass with 6.7 seconds left. He knocked the ball back to Mike Miller for a potential tying 3-pointer, but it wasn't even close to hitting the rim.

Chris Bosh scored 24 points for Miami, but the Heat got a stunningly unproductive game from their biggest star, LeBron James. He scored only eight points, making just 3 of 11 shots. He contributed nine rebounds and seven assists, but his lack of scoring sticks out because of the loss.

Nowitzki opened the game looking just fine, making his first three shots. But then he missed 10 of 11, and missed a free throw for the first time since Game 4 of the conference finals. By then, word spread of his illness.

With the game - and likely the series - on the line, Nowitzki found a way to come through. He made only 2 of 6 shots, but that included a terrific layup with 14.4 seconds left; he made all six of his free throws.

Hey, if he could win Game 2 with a left-handed layup two days after tearing a tendon in the tip of his middle finger, what's a little temperature (102 degrees)?

"We all seen him go through walkthroughs," Chandler said. "Every time he started to talk he started coughing. He was wheezing."

Miami was poised to take a commanding lead in the series when Udonis Haslem hit a jumper that made it 74-65 early in the fourth quarter. It was the Heat's biggest lead and the way Nowitzki was playing, the Mavericks didn't seem capable of pulling off another rally like the 22-5 finish that won Game 2.

Yet Jason Terry - who kick-started that comeback with six straight points - made consecutive baskets, and the surge was on. Terry ended up capping it with two free throws with 6.7 seconds left that forced Miami to need a 3-pointer.

Heat Take a 2-1 Lead in the NBA Finals

		1	2	3	4	F
	MIA	29	18	20	21	88
	DAL	22	20	22	22	86
	Heat lead series 2-1

Heat's 88-86 victory over Mavericks is full-groan
Miami pulls out a dramatic victory in pivotal Game 3, and America weeps . . . or at least sighs in disappointment

By Mike Bresnahan

June 5, 2011 LA Times

Reporting from Dallas

Sorry, everybody.The  Miami Heat couldn't quite pull off another fade in the NBA Finals.


Rejoice, South Beach. Cheers, Fort Lauderdale. And before excitedly dropping that mojito on the marble-tile floor, understand that everybody else in the country wanted to see Dallas win Game 3 on Sunday.

Nothing personal. But nobody likes to see a team drop down to a stunningly low two players under contract before building back up with a brief live-on-ESPN joint announcement by Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, followed a day later by the "The Decision."

There was little joy from Maine to San Diego after the Heat took a 2-1 series lead with an 88-86 victory Sunday.

The Mavericks tried just about everything.

There were pre-recorded scoreboard declarations that "The Time is Now" from Dallas sports luminaries Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman, not to mention Mike Modano. (He used to play for the Dallas Stars. That's a hockey team.)

But the time was now for the Heat, which guaranteed itself a return trip to Miami . . . if necessary.

The scoreboard also offered a video montage of the Mavericks scoring on the Lakers, along with the phrases, "They said the Mavericks were soft. They said 'The Champs' would beat us down. This year is different."

Not really. Not yet.

The Mavericks have never won an NBA title since entering the league in 1980. It hasn't stopped them from hanging banners from the high-up girders at American Airlines Center — Midwest Division champions in 1987, Western Conference winners in 2006, Southwest Division champs in 2007 and 2010.

Yay.

There's more bad news for the psyche of basketball fans. The last 11 times the Finals were tied at 1-1, the winner of Game 3 ended up holding a championship parade.

The Lakers' chances at a fiesta on Figueroa died a few weeks ago, but somebody needs to ask a few questions of alleged Lakers fan George Lopez, who stood near his courtside seat during the excitement of a Mavericks third-quarter rally.

Somewhere, Kobe Bryant is shaking his head.

Dirk Nowiztki wasn't happy either after Game 3, blandly intoning into a microphone that it was a "very tough loss" after a pair of his late-game blunders cost Dallas dearly.

He threw the ball away with 30.2 seconds to play after unexpectedly finding himself in a double team. Then he missed a 16-footer at the final buzzer.

LeBron James wasn't much better in the fourth quarter, scoring only two points. He did not, however, like being challenged by a reporter for "shrinking" away from the chance at fourth-quarter prowess.

"You should watch the film again and see what I did defensively," James said. "You'll ask me a better question tomorrow."

Wade was there to support James, scoring 29 points and taking 11 rebounds. Bosh was there too, eventually shaking off a poor shooting night by hitting a 16-footer from the left side to break an 86-86 tie with 39.6 seconds to play.

About the only thing the Mavericks could pocket was the ability to slice into any Miami lead.

Dallas fought back from a 14-point deficit in the second quarter, then a 13-point deficit in the third quarter. Small victories, but the only ones the Mavericks could celebrate after Game 3.

Showing some transcontinental unity, a Dallas fan's sign implored the Mavericks to "Do it for Cleveland!"

Not Sunday. Maybe not at all.

Mavericks Staged Huge 4th Quarter Comeback, Winning Game 2 and tying the NBA Finals 1-1

		1	2	3	4	F
	DAL	28	23	20	24	95
	MIA	28	23	24	18	93
	NBA FINALS Tied 1-1

Down by 15 with 7 minutes to go (88-73), Dallas scored 22 points to just 5 by Miami to pull out a 95-93 win

By BRIAN MAHONEY
Posted Jun 02 2011

MIAMI (AP) Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks put a stunning end to their misery in Miami.

Now they can win their first NBA title without ever coming back to South Florida.

Nowitzki made the tie-breaking layup with 3.6 seconds left, and the Mavericks roared back from 15 points down in the fourth quarter to beat the Heat 95-93 on Thursday night and tie the NBA finals at one game apiece.

Capping a furious rally by scoring Dallas' final nine points, Nowitzki's final two baskets were left-handed - despite a torn tendon on that non-shooting hand. He finished with 24 points.

Dwyane Wade had 36 points for Miami, but his desperation 3-pointer was off at the buzzer.

Game 3 is Sunday in Dallas.

Seemingly out of the game when the Heat led 88-73 with 7:15 remaining, Dallas held the Heat to just one field goal from there, a 3-pointer by Mario Chalmers with 24.5 seconds that tied it just 2 seconds after Nowitzki's 3 had made it 93-90.

But after a timeout, Jason Kidd ran the clock down before getting the ball to Nowitzki, who drove into the lane, spun back to the left and made the layup.

Jason Terry, largely silent since the first half of Game 1, fueled the comeback with a couple of jumpers and finished with 16 points. Shawn Marion had 20 points for the Mavericks, who had lost four straight finals games in Miami since taking a 2-0 lead in the 2006 series.

They were about to go down 2-0 this time before Nowitzki, who insisted his injured finger wouldn't hinder him, led a rally even more amazing than the one that won Game 4 of the Western Conference finals, when the Mavs trailed Oklahoma City by 15 in the fourth quarter before pulling it out in overtime.

LeBron James scored 20 points for the Heat.

Key plays in the comeback:

Dallas Mavericks Are Back in the NBA Finals; Dispatch Oklahoma City 4-1 in West Finals

OKC:  27 | 28 | 21 | 20 | 96

                                                    F

  DAL: 26 | 26 | 20 | 28 | 100

Dallas wins series 4-1

Dallas Mavericks, Western Conference Champions 2010-2011

DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks are going back to the NBA finals.

Nowitzki swished a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:14 left and Shawn Marion followed with a three-point play off a steal, the pivotal plays in yet another fourth-quarter comeback, this one sending the Mavericks to a 100-96 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night that closed out the Western Conference finals in five games.

After clawing back from down 15 with 5:04 left in Game 4, the Mavericks were down by six with 4:37 left in this one when they rallied again, outscoring the Thunder 14-4 the rest of the way.

Dallas has never won a championship, and neither has any of its players. Nowitzki and Jason Terry were part of the only Mavericks team to make the finals, in 2006. They were up 2-0 and leading late in Game 3, but lost the series to the Miami Heat in six games.

Dallas could get another crack at the Heat.  (Bring 'em on! We want the Heat!--jef)

LeBron James and Miami lead the Chicago Bulls 3-1 in the Eastern Conference finals. If the Heat win Thursday night, the finals will begin Tuesday in Miami. If the Bulls win Thursday night, the finals will begin next Thursday in the East winner's city.

"All I can tell everybody is, we ain't done yet," Mavs owner Mark Cuban said during the on-court trophy presentation ceremony. Seconds later, fans began chanting, "Beat the Heat," drowning out coach Rick Carlisle's on-court interview.

Nowitzki and Marion each scored 26 points, and were at their best in the fourth quarter.

Nowitzki scored nine in the final period, and Marion had 15. J.J. Barea added 14 and Terry scored 12 in a victory that set off the biggest on-court celebration in franchise history.

The only other time the Mavs made the finals, they won in Phoenix. This time, the home folks got to enjoy it, including franchise founder Don Carter, who traded his signature white cowboy hat -- the one that used to be featured in the team's logo -- for a black hat that read "The Finals 2011" with a Mavs logo and the championship trophy. Fans roared again when the overhead video board showed Nowitzki wearing the hat.

Russell Westbrook scored 31 points and seemed to be on a mission to force the series back to Oklahoma City. But he had two crucial turnovers during the furious finish.

Kevin Durant and James Harden finished with 23 points apiece for the Thunder, a young team whose future is bright but who at this point still has a lot to learn about closing out big games.

15 down with 5 mins left in the Game, Mavs rally to stun Thunder 112-105 in OT; Lead West Finals 3-1

By JEFF LATZKE - Posted May 24 2011

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Trailing by 15 points with only 5 minutes to play in one of the NBA's rowdiest arenas, the Dallas Mavericks were just wishing and hoping for the best.

Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Kidd delivered, and the Mavs suddenly find themselves only one win away from the NBA finals.

Nowitzki scored 40 points, Kidd hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 40 seconds left in overtime and the Mavericks staged an improbable rally to stun the Oklahoma City Thunder 112-105 on Monday night and take a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference finals.

"You're lying if you're not surprised. Down 15 with 5 minutes to play you're thinking hopefully something can happen," Dallas center Brendan Haywood said. "You're just kind of wishing."

Dallas didn't lead until Nowitzki hit two free throws 16 seconds into overtime, needing to rally from a 99-84 deficit in the final 5 minutes of regulation. The Mavericks never let the Thunder - who were one win shy of tying an NBA record with eight OT wins in the regular season - go ahead in the extra period.

"There's times and situations where they are going to test the courage and the mental inner strength of your team," said Jason Terry, who scored 20 for Dallas. "This was one of those times.

"This was a defining moment in our season where we look back and say, `Hey, that was the game"'

Kevin Durant missed a 3-pointer on Oklahoma City's opening possession of overtime then didn't get another shot until he missed a 3 off the front rim in the final 10 seconds with the Thunder down by five.

Durant finished with 29 points and 15 rebounds, and Serge Ibaka had 18 points and 10 boards for Oklahoma City. Russell Westbrook added 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

The Thunder suffered their first consecutive losses of the postseason and first back-to-back home losses in six months.

Only two teams have come back from 3-1 deficits in NBA history without the benefit of home-court advantage in Game 7 - Houston in the 1995 West semifinals and Boston in the 1968 East finals.

"There's no doubt it was a tough loss," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "If this loss did not hurt, there's no such thing as a loss that can hurt you."

Game 5 is Wednesday night in Dallas.

"We worked really hard these two games to win, and none of that guarantees anything for Game 5. We know that," said coach Rick Carlisle, whose Mavs have won at least 50 games in 11 straight seasons with no titles and only one trip to the NBA finals to show for it.

"All of us involved with this team have been through a lot of these wars. We understand our position that we're in. We respect it. We're very humble about it. We've got to get ourselves revved up and ready for Wednesday, because that's an opportunity."

Durant had nine of the Thunder's 26 turnovers, including the one that led to the big shot by the 38-year-old Kidd.

Kidd stripped him as he went up for a shot with just over a minute left in overtime, then took a pass from Nowitzki, pump-faked to get Westbrook in the air and stepped up to drill a 3-pointer to put Dallas up 108-105 with 40.3 seconds left.

Kidd scored 17 to go with seven assists, five rebounds and four steals.

"Everybody asks questions about the age and all that other stuff," Carlisle said, "but the thing I'd say to anybody is, `Never underestimate greatness."'

Westbrook missed on a drive on Oklahoma City's next possession, and Terry hit two free throws with 13 seconds left to give the Mavs a two-possession lead. Durant finally got another shot off, squatting with his head hanging down as Kidd walked up for two free throws to provide the final margin.

"We kept believing," Nowitzki said. "I think finally we got some rebounds. I think that was killing us all night long. We got second-chance points, tipouts. In the last couple minutes we got great stops, finally got some rebounds, and it really helped us (with) our flow. They couldn't really guard us off the transition and we needed to get some stops and that was big down the stretch."

Durant said all the Thunder can do now is try to be positive.

"It's not over yet," he said.

With much of the sellout crowd remaining on its feet, the Thunder grabbed control with two separate bursts of seven straight points early in the fourth quarter. Durant had a two-handed slam and a 3-pointer off an offensive rebound in the second run, gesturing as though he were slapping on a pro wrestling championship belt after the 3 made it 99-84 with 5:06 remaining.

He hadn't won anything yet, though, especially with guard James Harden fouling out just after Dallas started the closing run in regulation.

The Mavericks limited the Thunder to just one basket the rest of the way and tied it at 101 on Nowitzki's two free throws with 6.4 seconds left. Nowitzki scored 12 points during the Mavs' 17-2 run and got fouled by Nick Collison, who grabbed the big German's hip as he lunged to tip the ball away, before hitting both foul shots to tie it.

Shawn Marion blocked Durant's 3-pointer at least 30 feet from the basket with 2 seconds left, and the Mavs couldn't convert a chance at the win when Kidd's inbounds lob with 0.7 seconds left hit the rim.

Oklahoma City came roaring out of the gates after trailing by as many as 17 points in the first quarter of Game 3. The Thunder hit their first nine shots and took an 18-8 lead after Durant caught a deflected inbounds pass and zoomed in for a right-handed jam.

They never quite could shake Dallas, though. The Mavericks were still within five at halftime and within 79-77 in the final minute of the third quarter.

"It goes without saying that it was a tough loss to accept, but it is a loss and we have to learn from it," Brooks said. "I thought our guys played as hard as a basketball game as you can play. They were physical, we challenged shots, we struggled a little bit down the stretch with execution and throughout the game we struggled with turnovers."

NOTES: Tyson Chandler drew a technical foul in the third quarter. The NBA rescinded Chandler's first two technicals in this series, so his postseason count is currently at four - three shy of what's needed for a one-game suspension. Westbrook has five. ... Dallas was the only visiting team to win twice in the regular season at the Oklahoma City Arena, where the Thunder were 30-11. The Mavs are 4-0 in the building in the regular season and playoffs. ... Brooks, facing repeated questions about his starting lineup, says he's sticking with it. "We're a young team," he said, "and if you give a young team instability, you're going to get very inconsistent results."

DAL:  22 | 32 | 23 | 24 | 11 | 112

                                                           F

OKC: 31 | 28 | 22 | 20 |  4  | 105

Dallas Leads the Western Conference Finals 3-1

Mavericks avoid collapse, beat Thunder 93-87; Lead West Finals 2-1

Mavericks-Thunder notebook
By Randy Renner, for NBA.com
Posted Sunday May 22, 2011

DAL:  27 | 25 | 18 | 23 | 93

                                             F

OKC: 12 | 24 | 20 | 31 | 87

THE FACTS: The Dallas Mavericks jumped out to a 35-12 lead early in the second quarter then held on for dear life as the Oklahoma City Thunder cut that 23-point margin down to just four late in the game. Earlier in the playoffs the Mavs blew a 23-point lead at Portland and went on to lose the game but they held on in OKC to take Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals 93-87. Neither Thunder All-Star Kevin Durant (24 points on 7-for-22 shooting) nor Mavericks All-Star Dirk Nowitzki (18 points on 7-for-21) had particularly good nights.

The Thunder were 0-for-16 on 3-pointers, a playoff record for futility, before Russell Westbrook dropped one in from beyond the arc in the last minute. Oklahoma City outscored Dallas 51-41 in the second half but it wasn't enough. Nowitzki and Shawn Marion led the Mavs with 18 points. Jason Kidd and Jason Terry added 13. Center Tyson Chandler came up big with 15 rebounds, six on the offensive end. Westbrook led the Thunder with 30 points and Durant added 24 and pulled down 12 rebounds but no one else in a home uniform scored in double figures.

QUOTABLE: "We were much better defensively tonight and we had to be. The first two games we were horrible. Now the challenge is to sustain it."
-- Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle.

QUOTABLE II: "They did a great job from the start with their defensive pressure, they took us out of our sets and got us playing on our heels. They were very physical, pushed us off our spots. But our guys fought back to make a game of it."
-- Thunder head coach Scott Brooks.

THE STAT: Over the last two games Durant is 0-for-13 on 3-pointers.

QUOTABLE III: "It's not like me to miss 13 threes in a row. I practice them every day. I got some wide open looks they just didn't fall."
-- Durant.

TURNING POINT: It's hard to say the turning point wasn't the big start the Mavs got but after a 23-point advantage had evaporated down to just six with 3:20 left in the game Oklahoma City missed three consecutive 3-point attempts one each by Westbrook, James Harden and Daequan Cook and turned the ball over during the next two minutes. The Thunder cut the lead to four but could not get any closer.

QUOTABLE IV: "Russell's three might have been an opportunity for him to attack, his attack game was really working so he maybe should have done that instead, but the other threes were wide open. When you shoot 1-for-17 on 3-pointers it's not good."-- Brooks.

HOT: In the first nine minutes of the game Dallas was 9-for-17 (52.9 percent) including 3-for-4 (75 percent) on 3-pointers and had scored 21 points...in the first half the Mavs were 21-for-40 (52.5 percent)...Marion had 12 points in the first 24 minutes on 6-for-8 shooting...The Dallas bench was a combined 7-for-18 (38.9 percent) for 20 points...Also in the first half the Thunder were hot at the line going 16-for-17 (94.1 percent)...Through three quarters Marion had scored 16 points on 8-for-11 shooting...OKC ended the game shooting 32-for-36 (88.9 percent) from the free throw line...

not: Oklahoma City got off to a terrible shooting start in the first nine minutes of the game they were just 2-for-12 (16.7 percent) and had scored only eight points...OKC finished the quarter with just 12 points, their worst first quarter of the season. The Thunder were just 4-for-17 (23.5 percent) and 0-for-5 on 3-pointers...At halftime OKC had just 36 points (a season low) on 10-for-34 shooting (29.4 percent)...Durant had 10 points on 2-for-10 shooting, including 0-for-4 on 3-pointers...Harden was 0-for-5...The Thunder bench was a combined 2-for-8 (25 percent) for five points...In the third quarter Dallas was just 6-for-21 (28.6 percent) but Oklahoma City wasn't much better, 7-for-21, (33.3 percent)...Through three quarters Durant had 15 points on just 4-for-18 (0-for-8 on 3-pointers)...Nowitzki had just eight points on 3-for-12...The Thunder hit their last 3-point attempt after missing their first 16 (5.9 percent).

INSIDE THE ARENA: A strong demand for tickets as some fans paid as much as $2,500 per seat. It was another "blue-out" as more than 18,000 blue tee-shirts were distributed to fans along with white rally towels. The pop group Hanson sang the National Anthem. The brothers are from Tulsa. NBA "Superfan" James Goldstein sat courtside along with PGA Tour star Scott Verplank. Verplank lives in the OKC suburb of Edmond.

GOOD MOVE: Mavs guard J.J. Barea driving into the lane passes underhand to center Brendan Haywood for a slam in the second quarter.

GOOD MOVE TOO: Dallas point guard Jason Kidd with a nice move coming off a pick and roll early in the third quarter gets into the lane for a wide open floater that goes in giving the Mavs a 20-point lead.

GOOD MOVE III: Mavs guard DeShawn Stevenson standing out near the three point line comes running in to grab an offensive rebound in the third quarter. He gets the ball out to Kidd who flips it back to Stevenson who has drifted back out beyond the arc and nails the three ball.

NOTABLE: Dallas has now won four straight road playoff games.

UP NEXT: Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals between the Mavericks and Thunder is set for Monday at 8 p.m. CST inside Oklahoma City Arena. The game can be seen on ESPN.