Proving that no lead is ever truly safe against the Mavericks, the home side rallied to win from a deficit at the final break for the sixth time in this post-season.
Averaging 11.3 fourth-quarter points per game in the three previous games in the series, Nowitzki still finished strongly despite having woken up on game day with flu-like symptoms and a fever.
The German international forward had 21 points on 6-for-19 shooting, eight of those in the final period including the go-ahead lay-up past Game Three tormentor Udonis Haslem.
"I was going to play the clock down but I saw a little opening there so I just went for it," he said.
"I was able to rip through and go to the right; they were really playing my left which obviously the whole league does, but I was able to rip through and finally finish the lay-up.
"I missed about four or five good looks around the rim today."
That bucket took the score to 84-79 in Dallas' favour but after a Miami time-out, Dwyane Wade answered with a dunk on the drive that made it a one-possession game.
Arguably one of the greatest shooting guards of all time, Wade was as aggressive in attack as he has been all series, finishing with 32 points (13-of-20) and had six rebounds and two blocks.
But the late dunk was his last contribution as Jason Terry knocked down two free throws with six seconds remaining to push the Dallas lead back to three, the hosts holding on to win.
Mike Miller's three-point attempt from 28 feet out to force an extra period was no good as time expired.
A loss would have virtually handed the Heat their second ever title and second over the Mavericks, as no team has ever overcome a 1-3 deficit in a best-of-seven series to win it all.
Having done it all in the Game Three loss, Nowitzki said he was glad to have had help from long-time team-mate Terry, the only other Maverick to have tasted Finals defeat against Miami in 2006.
"I couldn't really finish around the rim; I had a couple of good looks today but no lift," he said.
"The crew was outstanding. I thought Jet [Terry] really took it on himself today in the fourth when we were down nine.
"He made two back-to-back plays (a driving lay-up and a pull-up jumper) to get us back in the game."
Team effort
The rest of Nowitzki's supporting cast was just as good despite a difficult first period that saw both teams allowing no leeway on the defensive end.
All-Defensive second team centre Tyson Chandler had an important 13-point, 16-rebound double-double, nine of those boards coming on the offensive glass where Miami had dominated in the first quarter.
Shawn Marion showed his veteran class, the 33-year-old posting 16 points and four rebounds thanks to some deft spinning footwork in the paint and soft touches from further out.
DeShawn Stevenson, who came off the bench in favour of JJ Barea for the first time this post-season, had the hot hand in the first half with three sweet three-pointers, but could not find his range in the second half and finished with 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting.
Again it was a case of Miami's stars doing most of the work, with Chris Bosh turning in another strong performance (24 points on 9-of-19 shooting, six rebounds) to support Wade.
On the other hand there was LeBron James, whose contributions other than scoring (nine rebounds, seven assists) were impressive but only served to highlight his uncharacteristically weak shooting night.
James, chasing his first title after seven seasons and one failed trip to the Finals with Cleveland, scored just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting.
It was "The King's" first game in single-digit scoring since January 2007.
Wednesday's thriller was yet another nail-biting contest in a series which has been decided by 11 points total across the four games.
Scores were locked at 21-21 after the first period and Miami fought to a 47-45 lead by the half and there were only two points in it with a quarter to go.
The Heat rattled off five unanswered points to start the fourth before Dallas rallied with a 16-4 stretch that stole back the lead for good.
The series remains in Dallas for Game Five on Friday morning (AEST) before returning to Miami for the sixth game and a seventh if necessary.
Tags: sport, basketball, united-states First posted June 8, 2011 14:00:00
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