LeBron James took one shot in the 4th quarter. Dirk Nowitzki battled through illness to have another huge 4th quarter. Through the first four games of the series, here’s the ranking of best players in the Finals:

- Dirk
- D Wade
- Tyson Chandler
- LeBron

So we can all stop with the “LeBron is better than” comparisons. Neither Magic, Bird, Jordan, nor Kobe (the four greatest individual talents – and champions – of the last 30 years) would have disappeared in the 4th quarter of a close Finals game like James did last night.

Strange to type the above headline. Stranger still to see the Miami Heat respond with championship-caliber steadiness on the road. Miami stared down another late charge from the Dallas Mavericks to win Game 3 of the NBA Finals and take a 2-1 series lead.

Chris Bosh hit the game winning shot with under 40 seconds to go. 

Dirk Nowitzky believes in nothing, Lebowski. Nothing. Not even pain. Certainly not Chris Bosh’s ability to defend.

Oh boy. Miami fans, there is no real good way to put this. Hold your noses. The Heat blew a 15-point, 4th quarter lead at home, and the Mavericks win Game Two of the NBA Finals.

The series is even at one game a piece.

Let’s make a list of the most important things to remember in a wildly memorable NBA Finals game:

You’ve heard of “precision German engineering” as a sales pitch for automobile brands. How about 24-24 from the freethrow line? That’s German precision, when Dirk Nowitzki is doing the shooting.

Dirk scored 48, including perfection at the stripe that set an NBA playoff record en route to Dallas’ 121-112 win over Oklahoma City in Game One of the Western Conference Finals.

Robert has a useful saying about postseason basketball: The last shot needs to go in. Last night’s game one between the Mavericks and the Lakers was a great example of this. Kobe missed at the end. Thus, Game One to Dallas, 96-94.