Nowitzki had 27 points and 15 rebounds for the Mavericks, who took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Nowitzki rolled his right ankle with 1:05 remaining after stepping on the foot of Spurs forward Tim Duncan, but returned shortly after and managed to hit the two crucial free throws in the waning moments to finish 21-of-24 at the line. That offset a 3-of-9 performance from the field for Nowitzki.
Devin Harris played a huge role again as a starter with 24 points for the Mavericks, and deflected the ball off Manu Ginobili’s knee for a turnover with 2.5 seconds left.
Jerry Stackhouse missed two foul shots with two seconds left with the final one an intentional miss by mistake only hitting the backboard. The Spurs, who were left without a timeout, got a break and inbounded the ball from the side in their own end. Dallas’ Josh Howard deflected the ball toward the left corner as time expired.
"It’s easy when you win big and you’re scoring a lot of points," Dallas head coach Avery Johnson said. "These are the games I’m really searching for to see how mentally tough we are. I thought win or lose we did some strong-minded stuff tonight."
Duncan had 35 points and 12 boards before fouling out with 65 seconds left. Ginobili, who didn’t start, hit for 24 points.
As far as the extent of Nowitzki’s injury, he said it’ll take a lot for him to miss a playoff game. He said he’ll apply ice for the next couple of days to the ankle.
"Well, it’s up there, but at least I was able to finish the game," Nowitzki said. "Obviously it was a big win and for me to miss a playoff game it’s got to be pretty bad."
Game 4 is Monday at American Airlines Center.
"It is a must win for us," Duncan said. "We have to find a way to get it done and take it back to San Antonio and regain our home court."
Brent Barry, who started in place of Ginobili, hit a three-pointer to give the Spurs a 98-95 edge with just over three minutes left.
Nowitzki drove the lane and stepped on Duncan’s right foot before tumbling to the floor in pain with just over a minute left. Despite the painful grimace, Nowitzki sank both foul shots for a 100-99 Dallas lead.
"He didn’t fall into me. I didn’t touch him," Duncan said. "He tried to draw contact. I moved out of his way. If he stepped on my foot, he stepped on my foot, but there was zero contact."
Ginobili banked in a shot, but a Stackhouse basket gave the Mavs the lead again at 102-101 with 31.4 seconds left.
Ginobili gave San Antonio a 103-102 lead with 21.4 seconds left on a fall-away shot from the right side.
Stackhouse then missed a jumper beyond the foul line, but Nowitzki, who had fouled out Duncan on his injury drive, was there for the offensive board and was fouled with 7.9 seconds left before making the two shots.
Robert Horry then drove to his right for the Spurs, but his hand off to Ginobili was botched, and the ball bounced back into San Antonio’s end to set up the final two seconds.
The Spurs decided not to go to Bruce Bowen, who was being guarded by a hurt Nowitzki down the stretch.
"If they would’ve attacked me, we would’ve been in trouble," Nowitzki said. "I was able to stay on the court and be a factor."
Dallas led by as many as 12 points in the opening quarter before settling for a 27-18 advantage after 12 minutes.
A basket by Marquis Daniels extended Dallas to a 53-40 cushion, but the Spurs scored the final eight points of the half to get within five.
The Mavs sustained an advantage throughout the entire third quarter, leading by as many as 11. Ginobili made two free throws in the closing seconds to get his team within 73-69 going into the fourth.
Bowen’s slam with under six minutes left finally boosted the Spurs ahead at 86-85. The game remained tight until the end.
Game Notes
Nowitzki’s 21 free throws made and 24 attempted are the most by a Dallas player in franchise playoff history...Tony Parker had 15 points for the Spurs...Jason Terry added 19 points, Howard scored 12 and Stackhouse 10 for Dallas, which went 39-of-50 at the foul line.
Dallas Mavericks 
San Antonio Spurs 
