Thanks to Chris Bosh’ go-ahead jumper with 41 seconds remaining and Udonis Haslem’s tough defense on Dirk Nowitzki, Lebron James  might have escaped another round of criticism.

Criticized heavily in their Game 2 loss in Miami for celebrating to early and missing four shots in the last seven minutes, James again had late-game miscues with two turnovers – a double dribble and a blocked three-point attempt by Shawn Marion.

After a team timeout when Nowitzki tied the ballgame 86-all, Lebron passed to an open Chris Bosh who calmly made the shot. On Miami’s ensuing possession after Nowitzki made a bad pass, Lebron again settled for a 3-point shot missing badly.

On Dallas’ final play, Nowitzki attempted a turnaround fadeaway shot with Haslem on his face but missed the shot, losing the game to Miami 88-86.

Dwyane Wade led Miami with 29 points and 11 rebounds. James added 17 points and nine assists with Bosh adding 18 points.

Nowitzki finished with 34 points, but didn’t get much help. Jason Terry scored 15 and Shawn Marion had 10, but both were shut out in the fourth quarter.

Miami had a 14-point lead late in the second quarter, then fell into the same bad habits they showed at the end of Game 2, letting Dallas get within 47-42 at the halftime break.

Check out the Game 3 recap video below:

NOTES:

* The Game 3 winner in a tied finals has won the championship all 11 times since the 2-3-2 format began in 1985.

* Dallas fell to 8-2 at home this postseason.

* The Heat and Mavs have each won a road game this series, which should be no surprise. They tied for the best road record in the NBA this season.

* The Mavs fell to 2-1 this postseason in games officiated by Dan Crawford. Dallas came into this postseason having lost 16 of its last 17 playoff games he worked.

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Don’t miss Game 4 by watching the Heat vs Mavericks LIVE streaming online on Monday, June 7 at 9 PM at the American Airlines Center, in Dallas, Texas, USA.

Check out the full 2011 NBA Finals schedule and mark your calendars now!

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