In Stars and on Scoreboard, Mavericks Coming Up Short

Two losses by a combined 10 points does not seem like enough to flunk out of these N.B.A. finals. But as they sorted through the latest lessons from Game 3, the Dallas Mavericks resembled schoolboys trudging off to finish their homework.

Challenges mounted Monday in the wake of the Miami Heat’s 88-86 victory Sunday, a game that ended on Dirk Nowitzki’s missed 16-footer and exposed more questions facing the Mavericks, notably finding fourth-quarter help for Nowitzki and figuring out how to hold a lead.

Dallas also must deal with LeBron James as a facilitator, a supporting role to Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh that he has cast for himself. James was credited with the assist on the winning basket, a crisp backhanded pass to Bosh, whose 16-foot jumper put the Heat ahead to stay.

“We won,” said James, who finished with 17 points and 9 assists. “That’s all I care about. I’ve got a lot of points in my career. I have had some teammates who have given me great confidence and ability to go out there and score. But I’ve done other things. I don’t have to score points to be effective.”

James has kept busy defensively, too, taking over for Wade to guard the sixth man Jason Terry in the fourth quarter, effectively choking off the Mavericks’ second-leading scorer. Led by James and Wade, the Heat attacked the basket more in Game 3 and outscored the Mavericks inside, 40-22.

“It’s what they’re assembled to do,” said Terry, who scored 15 points but was 0 of 4 shooting against James in the fourth quarter. “People doubted them. But they’re here.”

He added: “There’s no tricks. No magic show going on. These guys are who they are. They’re spectacular. Our job is to stop that and impose our will on them over 48 minutes.”

The Mavericks’ first step would be maintaining a lead. They were ahead for 5 minutes 49 seconds Sunday night, and four of those minutes came in the first quarter, when they briefly led by 5 points.

“Every time we gained some traction, they would hit us with a 6-0 run or an 8-0 run or they would chip away at our 5-point lead,” Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle said. “They did a better job of cashing in on opportunities than we did.”

Indeed, Miami has led approximately 66 percent of the series, according to Elias Sports Bureau statistics. The Mavericks have been ahead 25 percent of the time, with ties counting for the remaining 9 percent.

Dallas was in front for 15 ½ minutes in Game 1. That dropped to 14 ½ minutes in Game 2 before plummeting in Game 3. The Mavericks have yet to hold a double-digit lead, going up by 8 points in Game 1, 9 in Game 2 and 5 in Game 3.

Nowitzki, who kept the Mavericks close in the second half with 24 of his 34 points, complimented James on his defense, then said of Terry, “Jet hasn’t really been a crunch-time, clutch player for us the way we need him to.”

Nowitzki then added: “We have to find a way to get Jet some freedom and get him off some movement. He’s got to make some shots for us. He’s a big reason why we’re here.”

Nowitzki received little support from his fellow starters Shawn Marion (10 points), Jason Kidd (9), Tyson Chandler (5) and DeShawn Stevenson (3), whose combined 27 points were just 2 more than the Mavericks’ bench.

“We didn’t really give him much help, and I take a lot of that on my shoulders,” Terry said.

Kidd had 10 assists and 6 rebounds, but he was also forced into four turnovers by a swarming Heat defense that has caused fits for everyone but Nowitzki.

Asked if the Mavericks had hit critical mass and the Heat was simply the better team heading into Games 4 and 5 here Tuesday and Thursday, Kidd offered a simple answer.

“It’s about runs,” he said. “When you’ve played it enough, you don’t panic. You understand that you just want to be on the other side of that run late in the game, and hopefully it’s big enough to get you a win.”

Published by: Tom Spousta