MIAMI: No fourth-quarter collapse this time against the Dallas
Mavericks. These days, everything seems to be going right at home for
the Miami Heat.
LeBron James and Chris Bosh each
finished with 19 points and nine rebounds, while Dwyane Wade and Udonis
Haslem scored 16 apiece in a National Basketball Association Finals
rematch on Thursday night.
The 106-85 win ensured that the Heat extended the league's longest home success streak this season to 15 games.
Mario Chalmers scored 12 points
and Norris Cole added 10 for Miami, who swept their two games with
Dallas this season and ended a two-game losing streak.
'We just worked our habits,' James said. 'The
best thing about tonight, we didn't take another step backwards like we
did the last two games. And it was good to see.'
Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 for Dallas, but was
held to one-for-nine shooting in the second half. Lamar Odom added 12
for the Mavericks, who were out-rebounded 44-29 and held to only two
fast-break points.
Miami outscored Dallas 26-13 in the fourth quarter to cap the win.
'You have to give them credit,' Nowitzki said.
'They stepped up their pressure on both ends of the floor. In the first
half everything came a little too easy for us. We got some good looks,
got some rolls, had everything going. Then they really picked up their
pressure and we didn't have many good looks.'
It was Dallas' first time playing in Miami
since winning Game Six of the NBA finals last June. That was a series
that turned after an epic late Game Two comeback by the Mavericks in
Miami and eventually became the ultimate payback - hoisting a
championship trophy in Miami, five years after Wade and the Heat
celebrated winning their title in Dallas.
'Just another day at the office,' Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said.