Looking forward, not back

Dallas and Miami have both shifted their focus to Game 4.
MIAMI (AP) -- The Miami Heat's Game 3 comeback was stunning and spectacular.
Now it's time to forget all about it.
That's what the Heat and Dallas Mavericks were saying Wednesday as they began looking ahead to Game 4 of the NBA finals tonight.
"From game to game it swings, and you leave behind and move on and use whatever psychological edge you have or how you feel," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "But we're moving on to Game 4. Avery is moving on to Game 4."
Both teams have plenty to correct before then.
Bullied on the boards and punished in the paint, the Mavericks know they have to be tougher than they were in their 98-96 loss Tuesday. The Heat realize they have to cut down on their turnovers, or risk fueling a Dallas transition game they can't keep up with.
"It's a quick turnaround," Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki said. "You only have one day off. You've got to look forward to a game tomorrow. You can't live in the past."
What the Mavs should be looking forward to is a championship celebration. Up by 13 points in the fourth quarter, they were just a few minutes away from a 3-0 lead that has never been surrendered by an NBA team.
Instead, their mistakes eventually caught up to them. But rather than dwell on them, the Mavs only care about fixing them.
"We can't worry about what we didn't do, and just try to focus on what we need to do next," reserve Jerry Stackhouse said.
That's been one of Dallas' strengths in this postseason. After the Mavs' first loss in each of the last two rounds, Avery Johnson quickly came up with an adjustment that tipped the scales in his team's favor.
Against San Antonio, that meant inserting Devin Harris into the starting lineup to dictate a quicker tempo. To slow down Phoenix's penetration, he turned to center DeSagana Diop to block the lane.
Focus on rebounding
This time, his biggest concern is the Mavs' rebounding. They were outrebounded 49-34 Tuesday, with Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O'Neal and Udonis Haslem combining for more rebounds (35) than the entire Dallas team.
Dallas has been outrebounded in two of the three games in this series after winning the battle of the boards in an NBA playoff-record 17 straight games.
"It's really disappointing when we end up getting stops and sometimes their best shot is a missed shot," Johnson said. "So we just got to try to outhustle them, be a little bit more physical."
And that's not only limited to the rebounds. Even with only 16 points from O'Neal, the Heat outscored the Mavs 52-34 in the paint. Wade and even Antoine Walker continued to attack the rim, and Dallas didn't do enough to prevent it.
"Points in the paint, we've got to try to control that," Stackhouse said. "We don't want to let people in our paint. In our defensive numbers scheme we haven't had a good number yet."
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.