After watching the end of Game 2 again, it's actually true what the Heat said following the game.
The real breakdown came defensively, not necessarily offensively.
Yes, the offense could've used more movement on a few possessions. And, yes, Chris Bosh would've been better off not dribbling the ball off his foot. And, yes, Dwyane Wade, had a wide-open lane and a foul-plagued Tyson Chandler in front of him when he settled for a three-pointer with eight seconds left on the shot clock.
But for the most part, the failures came defensively down the stretch, and not just on Dirk Nowitzki.
A few of Dirk's open looks came on poor pick-and-roll defense when the Mavs ran multiple, quick screen-roll action. Bosh was particularly at fault on that Dirk three that gave the Mavs a three-point lead.
And Mario Chalmers' defense on Jason Terry wasn't very good, either, as Terry scored eight of those final 22 for Dallas.
So, if it's defense the Heat has to tighten up, there's enough of a sample size in these playoffs to assume the Heat can do that.
Surely, the screen-roll defense will be a primary point of emphasis. And chances are the Heat will attempt to shut down JT with LeBron James.
Combine that with James' determination to get to the rim, or at least the foul line, that he spoke about Saturday, and it would seem the Heat is in position to rebound from that loss.
That's not even mentioning a potential bounce-back from Bosh, who had a horrendous Game 2.
Of course, the Mavericks will be even tougher on their home floor. But when you watch Game 2 over again, you recognize there were very fixable elements that cost the Heat the game.
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