All we can say is it’s good to be a hoops fan. In the third of three incredible Finals games, basketball dudes everywhere should unite to appreciate what has been a straight-up epic series so far. The Heat took back home court, beating Dallas in Dallas, 88-86, in another primetime nail biter behind a game-winner from Chris Bosh and a takeover from Dwyane Wade. Wade (29 points, 11 rebounds) was a monster all night, and his late buckets after a 17-2 Dallas run gave Miami the cushion they needed. After the way Game 2 ended with Wade being ignored, we weren’t surprised. At this point, is there any question it’ll be Wade leading the way if Miami wins this? … In the first, he went behind-the-back, weaving through the Dallas interior like we weave through our weird cousins at the annual family BBQ, scooping and hooping (as our man Clyde Frazier would say) with two sick underhand layups. LeBron (17 points, nine assists) may have had one of those “why didn’t that guy come out of the locker room after halftime?” performances, but his hoe-down throwdown over Ian Mahinmi could be considered a piece of aggressive American foreign policy. It could also be up for “Best Dunk of the Playoffs” consideration. Welcome to the 2011 NBA Finals Ian Mahinmi … Down the stretch was Dirk time. If going for 34 and 11, scoring your team’s last 12 points (no other Mav scored in the final six and a half minutes) and forcing every hoops fan to try saying your name in their best/worst German accent isn’t enough, then there’s nothing left to say. Plus, his block on Bosh’s dunk attempt made us all wince a little bit. Poor guy. It’s one thing to get mocked. It’s another to get Mutombo‘d by a Euro with a shoebox vertical. We’re pretty sure straight shame played a part in Bosh’s 2-of-9 start. What played a part in his big finish was that game-winning corner two he hit to take the lead in the final moments. We all say things and have our fun, but Chris has to get his due – he just hit a game-winner in a huge road win in his first NBA Finals … Watching the Jason Kidd/Mike Bibby matchup in the first quarter was like watching two old men playing shuffleboard in a Florida retirement community. Then they both knocked down big threes in the first few minutes. Looks like they won’t be headed to Del Boca Vista just yet … The Mavs were rolling out the red carpet through their own paint in the first quarter. “Mr. James, your seat by the rim is ready” and “Mr. Wade, we have that lane available whenever you’d like it.” Six of the first eight Miami field goals were in the paint (next level: 16 of Miami’s 29 first quarter points were points in the paint). Mario Chalmers capped off the quarter with a running three from a step inside midcourt. Wade almost got his own midcourt heave to fall at the end of the second. At that time they were three for their last three (Wade also nearly made one to win Game 2) in buzzer huck-ups that looked good off the hand. Maybe Coach Spo has them running these at Heat practice. Chalmers (12 points) wasn’t content with just a circus shot and three. How about three more treys in pivotal moments to solidify himself as the down-the-stretch Miami one? We almost forgot that he single-handedly brought his Jayhawks to OT in the 2008 National Championship game … Scottie Pippen, we saw you reppin’ that black fedora. First those “LeBron might be better than MJ” comments, now this questionable choice of headwear. Scottie, we are officially putting you on Dime Watch. Dude has been warned … Will Kidd ever get called for traveling on his pump fake threes? He did it again last night and we swear the refs never call him on it. It happened during the second quarter and those 12 minutes were like the all-time pinnacle for bad officiating. We think Tyson Chandler was just involved in another loose ball foul … Check out this tweet from Andrew Grief on Greg Oden & LaMarcus Aldridge: Blazers’ Oden, Aldridge on Kimmel ‘dating game.’ Oden says he looks for ‘big butt’ & ‘that she’s a woman’ in a woman. So, not health? … And this tweet from the OKC blog, Daily Thunder: Kendrick Perkins says Russell Westbrook handled all that playoff criticism “like a G.” … Some of the Dime crew missed Game 3 as they were at Summer Jam seeing Lil Wayne, Drake, Rick Ross, Fabolous, Chris Brown, Birdman, Waka Flocka Flame, Wiz Khalifa, Jim Jones, Cam’ron, Juelz Santana and Lloyd Banks. And while all those guys were slated to appear, the show also included special performances by Diddy, DJ Khaled, Mobb Deep, Jadakiss, Ryan Leslie, Swizz Beatz, Lloyd, Busta Rhymes, Wale and Meek Mill. Not bad for one show. In terms of basketball, Wale hit the stage wearing a John Starks Knicks throwback, while Weezy wore a Celtics New Era fitted over his braids … We’re out like loose ball fouls.
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