Wade leads Heat to win in Game 3

Dwyane Wade scored 29 points on 12-21 shooting from the field and grabbed 11 rebounds as the Heat defeated the Mavericks 88-86 last night in Game 3 of the NBA Finals in Dallas. The Heat now lead the series 2 games to 1. LeBron James chipped in 17 points and 9 assists and Chris Bosh had 18 points, including the game-winning jumper with under a minute to go. Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks had 34 points to lead all scorers, but his jumper at the buzzer that would have tied it hit the back rim.

Through the first three games of the NBA Finals, Wade looks like the best player on the floor to me. Having not had the opportunity to watch the 2006 NBA Finals, this is the best basketball I have ever seen Wade play. He looks downright unstoppable most of the time out there and his jump shot is going in at an extraordinary rate. James has done a good job facilitating and I think his presence allows Wade to have a little more freedom.

Right now, Wade is playing too well for the Mavericks to give him space, they probably need to double team him and force someone else to shoot it. That's what happened on the last play when Bosh knocked down the game-winner. The defense was good in forcing the ball out of Wade's hands but needed to be a little better closing on Bosh. Even so, it's better if Bosh is open than Wade, so the only problem is there should have been a little better rotation defensively.

Nowitzki is playing stellar basketball and I honestly thought his shot was going to go in and force overtime, but I guess the percentages say they can't all go in. Nowitzki needs better play around him, particularly from Jason Terry who has faltered somewhat in the Finals after having an outstanding playoffs. It wouldn't hurt for J.J. Barea to be more productive either. The Mavericks have to accomplish these things if they want to have a realistic shot at winning the series. Game 4 is tomorrow night at 7 p.m. MT on ABC.

The amazing Dirk Nowitzki

At left: Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks (left) goes up for a shot against the Thunder's Kendrick Perkins in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Nowitzki had 48 points.

If you missed Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals last night, well, you missed quite a show. The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, 121-112. Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavericks dropped an incredible 48 points on the Thunder. The most amazing part of the whole thing is that he did it on 12-15 shooting from the field, an incredible 80 percent. And these were not only dunks and layups, but also a number of jumpshots, including those of the turnaround, fade-away variety. From the free-throw line, Nowitzki was 24-24, setting an NBA Playoffs record for number of free-throw attempts in a game without a miss.

Usually when a guy approaches 50 points, he takes a lot more than 15 shots from the field, which makes Nowitzki's performance truly one for the ages. I hope people recognize how dialed in he really was last night. Jason Terry continued his torrid postseason with 24 points on 50 percent shooting, including four 3-pointers, the last of which in the final minute put the game out of reach for good. Terry is a clutch player who has a knack for knocking down the big shot and has been referred to by Nowitzki as the team's "closer." Credit Terry for being big, but also Nowitzki for facilitating his teammates. J.J. Barea continued his strong play as well, chipping in 21 points of his own. Jason Kidd had 11 assists.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 40 points and had it not been for Nowitzki, he would have been the story of the game. Durant had an outstanding game, shooting 10-18 from the field and 18-19 from the foul line. Russell Westbrook, on the other hand, had a tough night, scoring 20 points, but doing so on just 3-15 shooting from the field. He had only 3 assists as the point guard. The Thunder are going to need improved play from Westbrook if they are going to win this series. The Mavericks guardline was significantly better than the Thunder's in Game 1.

Game 2 of this series is in Dallas tomorrow night at 7 p.m. MT and can be seen on ESPN and espn3.com. Meanwhile, Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals is tonight in Chicago at 6:30 p.m. MT and can be seen on TNT. The Bulls lead the Heat in that series, 1-0.