Mavs hang on to take series lead; Nowitzki hurt

Nowitzki had 27 points and 15 rebounds as Dallas 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 to finish 21-of-24 at the line.

Devin Harris played a huge role again as a starter with 24 points for the Mavericks, and deflected the ball off of 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 off the backboard only. The Spurs, who were left without a timeout, inbounded the ball from the side in their own end. Dallas’ Josh Howard deflected the ball toward the left corner as time expired.

Duncan had 35 points and 12 boards before fouling out with 65 seconds left. Ginobili, who didn’t start, hit for 24 points.

Game 4 is Monday at American Airlines Center.