Dallas Mavericks Even the NBA Finals at 2 Games Apiece After Beating Miami Heat by 3

Game 4 of the NBA Finals came down to the final buzzer after the Miami Heat coughed up a 7 point lead in 4th period in an 86-83 win by the Dallas Mavericks.

Mavericks star forward Dirk Nowitzki battled the flu and an over 100 degree fever as he scored 21 points, with 11 rebounds, to lead the Mavs to the win.

Tonight's game was tightly contested throughout, with the teams tied at 21 after the first period. The Heat and Mavs were tied again at34 with 5:24 left in the second, and then spent a large portion of the third period either tied or within two points of each other.

LeBron James struggled offensively, because of Jason Kidd's defense, with only 8 points on 3 of 11 shooting from the field.  Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh had to carry the load for Miami as they had 32 and 24 points, respectively.

The Mavericks' win was not without late game drama as a 17-4 run spanning over 8 minutes from the 10:11 mark to the 1:53 mark in fourth period, erased a 7 point deficit.  Nowitzki battled fatigue as he scored 8 Mavs points during the run and Jason Terry chipped in 6 points.

At this point, the score was 82-76 and Dallas had their largest lead of the game.

After a few Dwyane Wade baskets and some Chris Bosh free throws in the final two minutes, the Heat still had a chance to force the game into overtime on the final possession of the game.  With 6 seconds left, and the score 86-83 Mavericks, the inbounds pass to Dwyane Wade deflected off of his hand toward the backcourt. Wade saved the ball with a pass to Mike Miller, who threw up an errant 3-point shot to end the game.

The Best-of-7 NBA Finals is now tied at 2 games a piece with Game 5 Thursday night.