Wade's two free throws in OT lift Miami to win

The Heat have won three straight in the series, which returns to Dallas.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
MIAMI -- The carnival of a cruise that has been the Miami Heat season said goodbye to its home port Sunday for the final time as the NBA Finals sailed off to Dallas for Tuesday's Game 6 and the rest of the series.
"It's hit, but I don't think it's hit," Heat coach Pat Riley was saying before the game. "We've had a great run here at home [11-1 in these playoffs]. We were definitely ratcheting up the intensity. But tonight's the swing game."
And thanks to 43 points and two free throws with 1.9 seconds left from Dwyane Wade it swung in favor of the Heat in a 101-100 overtime victory Sunday to give Miami a 3-2 lead in the Finals. The Heat can win the first championship in franchise history with a victory in Game 6.
Jason Terry's 35 points topped the Mavericks.
"When you've got a chance to put it away, obviously you're a lot more motivated," Riley said. "When you go down, you have to win two and that's a tough chore."
Mavericks' key
The Mavericks' X-factor was supposed to be Josh Howard. Before being stopped earlier in the series, the Mavs had a streak of winning their last 25 games when Howard scored at least 20 points. But Howard came into the game with three points in the previous five quarters and not having scored a point in the fourth quarter in the series.
"Everybody kind of knows now we're good when he gets 20 or more," Mavs coach Avery Johnson said. "When he gets on a roll, he's not getting as much single coverage as he did earlier in the playoffs. They are paying a lot of attention to him."
So the Mavericks ran their first three possessions for Howard, who got an isolation jumper and a pair of free throws to help the Mavs to the early lead, 11-5, that had been eluding them. And Howard began to find the confidence and aggressiveness the Mavs were seeking with 19 first-half points and three offensive rebounds in the first half, more than anyone on Miami.
Devin Harris started again, primarily to harass Wade. Johnson said the Mavericks haven't been physical enough with Wade, and later in the first quarter, when Shaquille O'Neal went out, the Mavs threw three defenders at Wade.
The Heat continued its increased defensive pressure on Dirk Nowitzki, who was 11 of 34 in Miami before Sunday, believing that, without the suspended Jerry Stackhouse, the Mavs' scoring options were limited. Terry would show them otherwise.
"We'd like for [Nowitzki] to break out," Johnson said. "If Dirk had [games] like this in November or February, you'd just pack up and go to the next city. But in the Finals it's magnified. We've known him to bounce back and in a big way."
Heat control half-court
Nowitzki never really found the range, and once again it was Miami maintaining the half-court pace and moving the ball around as the Mavs continued to drop their double team in on O'Neal. James Posey hit a three-pointer and Shandon Anderson -- with Antoine Walker in heavy foul trouble early -- went back door for four points and a 24-21 Miami lead after one quarter.
The Mavs, saying they would use all their fouls with sub D.J. Mbenga back from suspension, tried Keith Van Horn on O'Neal for a while in an apparent attempt to quicken the pace. But the Mavs failed to run O'Neal side to side on pick-and-rolls and O'Neal, instead, backed Van Horn down and out of the game with a pair of quick scores to put the Heat up 28-23.
The Mavs hung in without allowing Wade the so-called "air space" Riley always talks about with chest-to-chest defense from Marquis Daniels and Harris. The Mavs also had talked keeping Wade off the boards and bumping Wade more when he moved without the ball. Likewise, the Mavs were frustrated about being outrebounded by 27 the last two games and would show a 23-14 edge by halftime, thanks to renewed effort.
Wade, though, pushed the Heat ahead 34-30 on a backdoor cut and free throw before Terry left Gary Payton asking for directions to find him. After Terry committed a pair of lazy turnovers, Terry ran out for a layup after Wade was squeezed into a turnover. That began a 15-4 Dallas run highlighted by nine Terry points in the Mavs' next 11 and later a three-pointer for a 51-43 Mavs' halftime lead. By intermission, Terry had matched Howard's 19 points. Wade had 13 for Miami but shot only 3-for-13.
The Mavs continued to apply the pressure in the third quarter, moving ahead 59-50 as DeSagana Diop and Erick Dampier got slams while O'Neal tried to help on pick-and-rolls.
Dallas had a big chance to stretch its lead, but two Mavs collided on a missed O'Neal free throw and Wade got the ball and hit O'Neal for a slam dunk and three-point play that also energized the crowd.