James delighted the crowd with a thunderous one-handed dunk for a 3-point play, while Wade added a step back 3-pointer as the Heat prevailed, 92-84, to remain undefeated at home in the postseason.
The Heat toyed with the Mavericks until the midway point of the fourth period and then pulled away with exceptional plays by James, Wade, and Chris Bosh. A 68-66 lead early in the fourth turned into 89-79 at the 1:08 mark with all but 6 of those points scored by the Big Three.
James finished with 24 points on just 16 shots and he single-handedly put Miami ahead late in the third quarter with three 3-pointers. Wade added 22, including 7 in the fourth quarter.
“It’s not as if we’ve created two new players,’’ Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said of James and Wade. “That’s who they’ve been their entire careers. We had quite a few close games in the regular season where we failed. We had to adjust some things. Every playoff game has been one of these that goes down the stretch. The more times you’re in it, probably the more confident you get.’’
The Heat were effective in frustrating Dallas superstar Dirk Nowitzki, who finished with 27 points but on 7-for-18 shooting. But the rest of the Mavericks were a combined 17 of 48 from the field. Jason Kidd and Jason Terry scored 3 points in the second half as Dallas made just 11 field goals in the second half.
And as they won the previous three series, Miami used aggressive, energetic defense to force the Mavericks into hurried shots. The Heat were content to allow Nowitzki to shoot, but every one of his shots was contested while the remaining Dallas complements had little to offer in the second half.
The Mavericks bench finished 4 of 22 from the field, including 1 of 8 from former Northeastern standout J.J. Barea.
Terry tallied 12 points in the first and zero in the second. As usual, Miami’s physicality wore down the opponent while their three All-Stars emerged with decisive baskets down the stretch. The recipe is a well known one, but no Miami opponent has been able to stop it.
