The Dallas Mavericks rallied from a 15-point, fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Miami Heat 95-93 Thursday in Game 2 of the NBA Finals at AmericanAirlines Arena. The series is now tied at 1. Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 24 points, including the winning layup with three seconds remaining. Nowitzki, playing with a torn tendon in his left middle finger, also hit a key 3-pointer in the final minute to put the Mavs ahead 93-90.

The Heat responded with a 3-pointer from guard Mario Chalmers in the corner, setting the stage for Nowitzki's final shot. Miami had one last chance, but Dwyane Wade missed a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Wade led all scorers with 36 points while forward LeBron James had 20 points and eight rebounds. The Mavs had four players in double-figures, including Shawn Marion (20 points), Jason Terry (16) and Tyson Chandler (13).

QUOTABLE: "Just hang in. Let's get some stops. Let's give ourselves a chance. Let's put some pressure on them. We really hadn't put any pressure on them at all in two games to speak of ... but by being solid and getting a couple of stops and scoring, we got some momentum and it worked out."
-- Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle.

THE STAT: Trailing 88-73, the Mavs closed the game with a 22-5 run.

TURNING POINT: A 3-pointer by Wade with 7:13 left produced the 15-point lead, but his posing in front of the Dallas bench provided a spark for the Mavs. Several Mavericks said it served as motivation for the comeback. Tyson Chandler said it was a show of disrespect and Jason Terry needed to be held back by teammates because of the excessive celebrating.

QUOTABLE II: "No question about it, that's about as tough a fourth quarter you can have. When it started to slide, it just kept on going ... We're not happy about this. Certainly the way we closed the game is so uncharacteristic for us on both ends of the court."
-- Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra.

HOT: It's unfortunate the Heat wasted Wade's best game of the postseason. He was hot from the start, but disappeared in the end. Wade finished with 36 points on 13 of 20 shooting. Most of his production came when took advantage of the mismatch of being guarded by Mavs point guard Jason Kidd.

NOT: Heat forward Chris Bosh continues to struggle in the Finals. He shot just 4 of 16 from the field, finishing with 12 points. The Mavs have put most of their focus on stopping James and Wade, but Bosh has failed to take advantage of the open shots.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: James finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists. He shot 8 of 15 from the field, but the Heat probably need him to be more aggressive from the field.

GOOD MOVE: The Mavs did not run many set plays in the final seven minutes. Players said it allowed them to play more relaxed. It's a strategy they've used often this season when trailing, and it led to one of the greatest comebacks in Finals history.

BAD MOVE: The Heat may have gotten just a little too comfortable with that 15-point lead. It didn't help that Wade decided to showboat in front of the Mavs' bench. Dallas had more than enough fuel when you consider the Heat crowd had already begun celebrating by throwing T-shirts on the court.

NOTABLE: The loss was the Heat's first home loss in 10 playoff games this season. The Mavs are the first team to rally from a 15-point deficit in the Finals since the Chicago Bulls against the Portland Trailblazers in 1992.