Chris Bosh hit the go-ahead jumper with 39 seconds left as the Miami Heat escaped with an 88-86 win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Sunday.

With Miami fighting off repeated challenges from the Mavericks down the stretch, Bosh played the hero after enduring a third straight poor shooting performance. His 16-footer late in the shot clock put the Heat up by two, forcing the Mavericks to call timeout.

Dallas turned the ball over on its next possession and Miami ran the clock down, with LeBron James missing a 3-pointer to give the Mavericks the ball back with four seconds left.

Dallas superstar Dirk Nowitzki had a chance to tie the game on the final possession, but his jumper from the top of the key hit the rim and bounced away.

Dwyane Wade had 29 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Heat, who lead the best-of-seven championship 2-1. Bosh added 18 points on 7-of-18 shooting while James chipped in with 17.

Nowitzki's 34 points led the Mavericks, who host Game 4 on Tuesday.

Wade's 19-point, six-rebound effort in the first half lifted the Heat to a 47-42 advantage at the break - a lead that would have been larger had the Mavericks not closed out the second quarter on an 11-2 run. Miami then surged to begin the second half, scoring the first eight points to extend the edge to 13 points.

A Nowitzki 3-pointer moved the Mavericks back to within four, and Shawn Marion hit a wide-open layup to tie it 57-57 with 4:37 remaining, capping a 15-2 run. James and Mario Chalmers responded with back-to-back 3-pointers for Miami, and a Udonis Haslem layup with 26 seconds left gave the Heat a 67-64 lead entering the fourth.

The game remained close until inside the eight-minute mark, when Haslem hit a 12-foot jumper and Chalmers added his fourth 3-pointer of the game as Miami opened up a seven-point edge. That's when Nowitzki caught fire, scoring 10 straight Dallas points to tie the score with 1:39 remaining.