Dallas — If the numbers seemed skewed, go with the feeling.

Through the first two games of the NBA Finals, Miami Heat forward LeBron James had attempted twice as many 3-point attempts as he had free throws.

James had been to the free-throw line just six times, twice in a Game 1 victory, and four times in Thursday night’s Game 2 collapse.

With two off days and most of Sunday to ponder his inexplicable absence from the line, James, who entered Game 3 averaging 22 points in the Finals, seemed determined to see those numbers inflated.

“I will be in attack mode tonight,” James said at the Heat’s shoot-around Sunday morning. “Six free throws in (two) games from me is unacceptable. As simple as that.”

James went to the line four times in the first half against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, but didn’t get there in the second half.

The Heat entered Game 3 with an 11-3 record in the postseason when it attempted more free throws than the opponent, 3-1 when attempting fewer. Additionally, when James leads the Heat in scoring in the postseason, Miami is 7-1. Sunday, the Heat attempted 15 free throws and Dallas had 27, yet the Heat was able to hold on for the 88-86 win.

“Six free throws in two games, I do that in my sleep in one game,” James said during off-day chatter. “I’m going to make a concentrated effort to be more aggressive to try to get to the rim, create some more opportunities for myself and my teammates.”

Yet James, who essentially declared himself unguardable — “I don’t feel like (there’s) one guy in the league that can stop me one-on-one” — conceded the Mavericks have been doing things defensively to prevent his penetrations, especially in late-game situations.

“They did some things defensively that they hadn’t done throughout the first two games all the way,” James said. “They started to blitz me, (Dwyane) Wade’s pick-and-rolls, and a lot of our sets kept us on the perimeter.

“We didn’t get into our sets early enough to give us more time, so we had to take contested long-range 3s. I think I took two, D-Wade actually took one.”

Miami Coach Erik Spoelstra, however, said he thought it might not behoove his team to get overly aggressive inside.

“We want to play more to our identity,” he said. “We don’t want to invent a new game. We’re an aggressive, attacking team that tries to get to the paint, to the rim, to the free-throw line.

“But at the same time we have read the game. We’ve got guys who can step up and make timely, open 3s and open shots to keep the defense honest. The most important thing for us is to get back to our identity.”

NO HAYWOOD: A strained right hip flexor kept Dallas backup center Brendan Haywood out of Sunday night’s game.

He was replaced on the Mavericks’ active list by point guard Roddy Beaubois.

“I was hoping for a miracle,” Haywood said. “It didn’t happen. Hopefully, I’ll be ready Tuesday (for Game 4 in Dallas).”

Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle said he was ready for a game without his top interior backup.

“It will change our rotation, obviously,” Carlisle said. “He’s one of our biggest guys, we all know that. We’ve got some different scenarios. (Ian) Mahinmi (a 6-foot-11 reserve) will most likely play some minutes. There’s a possibility we could look at other lineups that could be possibly smaller. We’re going to have to adjust.”

Mahinmi was ineffective, playing five minutes in the first half and committing three fouls.

FEELING THE ADRENALINE: The right-handed Dirk Nowitzki seemed unaffected by the torn tendon in his left middle finger, if the driving, left-handed layup he made for the winning shot Thursday night was any indication.

The injury, immobilized by a small splint, is evidently a non-factor.

“The finger is really good,” Nowitzki said. “Got to keep it straight. It was throbbing a little bit after the game (Thursday night), but I guess that’s normal — and it’s going to be OK.”

With two days to rest and receive treatment, Nowitzki said he wasn’t expecting any further difficulties.

“Once the adrenaline always starts flowing during the game, I think I’m OK,” he said. “It doesn’t bother me during the game. That’s the major thing.”

•••••••

Jimmy Smith can be reached at jsmith@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3814.

DALLAS – It may have been the simplest play the Miami Heat ran all night.

Had it not decided the game — and given Miami control of the NBA finals — it wouldn’t have made any highlight reel, generated any interest, ever been replayed. A pick-and-roll, followed by two passes to rotate the ball over to the opposite side of the court. A screen to create space. An easy open jumper.

“Fundamental basketball,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, “at its best.”

And with that, the Heat are two wins away from being crowned the NBA’s best.

Chris Bosh’s jumper from the left baseline with 39.6 seconds left after a nifty snap pass by LeBron James broke the ninth and final tie of the game, giving the Heat an 88-86 win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 of the NBA finals on Sunday night.

The Heat reclaimed home-court advantage in the series, with a 2-1 edge heading into Game 4 on Tuesday.

“We felt this was a must-win,” Heat guard Dwyane Wade said after scoring 29 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. “We had to put it upon ourselves to try to take home court back in a sense, and by any means necessary.”

The Heat wasted a chance to take command of the series in Game 2, frittering away a 15-point lead in the final 7:14.

On Sunday, the Miami lead was once 14, albeit in the second quarter. The Heat led by seven midway through the fourth. Could Dallas come back again?

Well, almost.

Dirk Nowitzki missed a shot that would have tied it on Dallas’ last possession, and the Mavericks dropped their second straight finals home game, although the two were separated by 1,811 days. Miami’s last win in Dallas was June 20, 2006, when the Heat clinched an NBA title with a Game 6 victory.

Until Sunday, Dallas has been a house of horrors for every player on the Heat roster. None of the 15 had a winning record in the city as an opponent. Juwan Howard was 8-10 in road games at Dallas. Mike Bibby was 10-18. Eddie House was 5-8.

And they were the good ones.

James was 2-6 in Dallas as a pro. Haslem was 1-9 and Wade was 1-6 — their lone win coming in that 2006 title-clincher. Jamaal Magloire was 0-9, Mike Miller was 1-14 and Erick Dampier was 2-11 as an opponent, though it bears noting the Mavericks were 184-59 in home games when he played for Dallas.

But Bosh, winless in all eight of his previous trips to Dallas as a pro, was finally a hero in his hometown.

“I knew I was going to have an open shot,” Bosh said. “I know I have to shoot it. I just wanted to have good form, follow through. And I’m lucky.”

Bear in mind, he said that with an eyeball that was more the size of a tennis ball.

Bosh’s night started with a tumble, him falling to the court in agony after getting hit in the left eye by Mavs guard Jason Kidd. He got treated quickly on the Miami bench and stayed in the game, though his eye swelled quickly.

He said it didn’t impair his vision. The stat sheet suggested it may have.

Bosh was 6 for 17 in the game — and 15 for 51 in the series — before his game-winner. Bosh told teammate Udonis Haslem moments before the basket that if Wade or James penetrated, he wanted someone to screen Nowitzki and get him open.

That’s close enough to what happened. And Bosh delivered.

“It went just how we thought it would,” Haslem said. “He stepped up with confidence and knocked it down. He’s a great shooter. He’s a tough, tough shooter. He knocks down shots. He has a feathery touch. I’ve got confidence every time he shoots the ball that it’s going in.”

Wade dribbled right, threw the ball over a double team to James in the high post as Haslem slipped toward Nowitzki to give Bosh room to step back to a spot on the left baseline. James never even turned around or dribbled, shoveling a backward pass to Bosh, who caught the ball and shot as Haslem kept Nowitzki pinned.

“I don’t care if he missed 15 in a row,” James said. “He was wide open and that’s his sweet spot.”

Sweet result, too.

Bosh said he expected his shot to run exactly as it did, right down to James flipping the ball from the side instead of turning and facing the Mavs’ defense before making a move.

“It was the right play,” Bosh said. “We trust each other. Our guys have been doing a fantastic job of showing that trust, especially in crunch time situations. This is as big as it gets and when you can trust somebody to hit them real quick, I think that’s great.”

Nowitzki called it a mental breakdown, though he lauded the job Haslem did on the pick that freed Bosh. Nowitzki had a chance to atone for that basket later, but missed as Haslem — who was a thorn in his side throughout the 2006 finals — defended him nicely at the end.

“We definitely messed it up,” Nowitzki said.

Bosh had felt the same way after all eight of his previous appearances in Dallas as an NBA opponent.

Never has a 1-8 record looked so good to him as it does now.

“It started with Dwyane,” Spoelstra said. “He threw it to LeBron, LeBron threw it to Chris. … When you see an open man, you hit an open man. And like I said, we made a few of those plays down the stretch. It was good to see him knock that one down.”

It goes back to what the Heat had talked about since Day 1 of training camp.

Trust.

That word has been part of Spoelstra’s daily vernacular all season. Trust in the process, the system, your teammates, the moment. Never had that meant more than when Bosh made that shot on Sunday night.

“At this point,” James said, “there’s no room to hold anything back.”

___

Follow Tim Reynolds on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ByTimReynolds

Read More: nba finals, 2011 nba finals schedule, 2011 nba finals, LeBron James (F – MIA), Dwyane Wade (G – MIA), Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat

With 7:14 left in Game 2 of the 2011 NBA Finals, Dwyane Wade hit a three-point shot that put the Miami Heat up 88-73 over the Dallas Mavericks. At that point everyone thought the game was over, including the LeBron James and Wade who celebrated wildly right in front of the Mavericks bench. Unfortunately for the Heat, Dallas didn’t think the game was over and used their anger at being disrespected and Miami’s own hubris to climb back in the game and tie the series 1-1. The next three games will be in Dallas with Game 3 on Sunday, June 5 at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT.

Dallas outscored Miami 22-5 in those final seven minutes as they raised their game to another level and simply overwhelmed the Heat with their energy and will. It’s fitting in so many ways for the more talented Heat team to be done in by their own arrogance. 

Wade insisted the celebration in front of the Mavericks bench after hit the three-point shot to put Miami up 15 was perfectly fine.

“There was no celebration. It was a shot made going into a timeout. Every team does something. That’s the game. If it pumped them up — they won the game. Obviously it did something. That’s not the first time. It won’t be the last time that — if we do a great play that we come and our teammates and we do something,” Wade said.

Miami should be able to learn a lesson from this and dominate the rest of the series but if Dallas’ confidence is able to carryover and win them the NBA Finals it will be the fourth quarter of Game 2 that was the turning point. Up to that point, the Heat were dominating the Mavericks with their defense and athleticism which produced 30 points off 20 Dallas turnovers.

Here’s the full remaining schedule for the 2011 NBA Finals.

Game 3 Sunday June 5, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT
Game 4 Tuesday June 7, 2011 at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT
Game 5 * Thursday June 9, 2011 at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT
Game 6 * Sunday June 12, 2011 at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT
Game 7 * Tuesday June 14, 2011 at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT
*If necessary

Miami Heat’s LeBron James (6) speaks with Dwyane Wade during the second half of Game 2 of the NBA Finals basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks, Thursday, June 2, 2011, in Miami. The Mavericks defeated the Heat 95-93. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

DRose hasn’t been very MVP-like in the Eastern Conference Finals so far, and for that, he can thank the stifling Heat defense. From the Miami Herald: “Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Sunday morning that defending Derrick Rose is ‘like trying to contain a tornado.’ During much of Game 3 Sunday, Rose was more like a steady drizzle — irritating (from a Heat perspective), but not horribly destructive. And though he had some good moments at times in finishing with 20 points, he didn’t do nearly enough to swing the game in Chicago’s favor … ‘They’re doubling me every pick and roll. I’m trying to create for others,’ Rose said afterward. ‘That’s what I’m going to try to continue to do, sometimes try to beat the double team, sometimes try to pass and make it easy. They’re closing in on the paint.’ In the fourth quarter, Rose had three assists but also two turnovers, his only two of the game. He closed with just five assists, none in the first half. ‘We’ve got to find a way to find easier baskets,’ he said. Sunday’s performance followed a disappointing Game 2 in which Rose scored 21 but shot just 7 for 23.”