Dirk Nowitzki, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh: Top players from the game-3 of NBA Finals
Miami Heat 88 – Dallas Mavericks 86
Playing at the American Airlines Centre on Sunday night, the Miami Heat survived Dirk Nowitzki’s late scoring rampage and clinch an 88-86 victory in the thrilling game-3 of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals. The
Heat now leads the best-of-seven series 2-1 and have also restored their home court advantage.
The best performances that sparked the game are discussed below:
Dirk Nowitzki
The German sharp-shooter, Dirk Nowitzki posted yet another outstanding performance and almost led the Mavericks to back-to-back come from behind victories. The prolific power forward racked up a game-high 34 points and clutched
11 rebounds in less than 42 minutes of playing time.
Nowitzki became a major threat for Miami in the final 12 minutes of the game when he smashed the Heat with 15 points to spark another exhilarating turnaround. However, the All-Star was completely hounded by the Heat in the last
minute of play and that proved to be the game changer as Dallas lost by a 2-point margin.
The seven foot forward was spot on from the charity strip and landed 9 free throws in as many attempts. He has now connected on 26 consecutive free throws in the Finals. The superstar nailed more than 50 percent shots from the
field and also buried three scorching blows from beyond the arc.
Dwyane Wade
Miami Heat’s prolific guard Dwyane Wade kept on scoring and soaring throughout the night and marshalled his team with a magnificent double-double. Wade erupted with a team-high 29 points, grabbed 11 rebounds dished out 3 assists
and was the only Heat player, who countered the offensive wrath of Nowitzki.
Dwyane was in his flow early and absolutely dominated the proceedings in the first half with 19 points, propelling the Heat to five point lead at the break. Wade surged with a series of jumpers and 3-pointer in the defining moments
of the game and saved his team from another fourth-quarter meltdown.
LeBron James
Fuelled with the determination to put on the first championship ring on his finger, Miami Heat’s small forward LeBron James continued to showcase his abilities on Sunday night. With Wade firing on all cylinders, King James resorted
to a role of a facilitator rather than an aggressor and was one assist short of a double-double with 17 points and 9 assists. LeBron not only kept the score board ticking for the Heat, he also freed up a number of opportunities for his teammates to stimulate
the offensive attack.
Chris Bosh
The last of the big three, power forward Chris Bosh landed 18 points on the night. Bosh was not the top-scorer on the night, but he proved to be the game breaker. With 39.6 seconds remaining in the game and the Heat trying to avert
another choke at the clutch, Bosh nailed a jumper to give Heat an 88-86 lead and the win.
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