Ailing Nowitzki lifts Mavericks, NBA finals tied

DALLAS (AP) - June 7, 2011

And this time, Nowitzki did it while battling the flu.

Nowitzki shook off three poor quarters to score 10 of his 21 points in the final period as the Mavericks outscored the Miami Heat 21-9 over the final 10:12 for an 86-83 victory in a memorable Game 4 Tuesday night.

The Mavs avoided going down 3-1, a deficit no team has ever overcome in the finals, and guaranteed the series will return to Miami for a Game 6 on Sunday night.

Dwyane Wade scored 32 points, but fumbled an inbounds pass with 6.7 seconds left. He knocked the ball back to Mike Miller for a potential tying 3-pointer, but it wasn't even close to hitting the rim.

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