He didn't force it. Instead of taking the shot he found Jason Kidd in the corner. Kidd gave a pump fake to free himself from the on-rushing Russell Westbrook to nail the game-winner as the Mavericks overcame a 15-point deficit with 5:06 left in regulation to shock the Oklahoma City Thunder 112-105 and take a 3-1 series lead.
"People still think Kidd is not a good shooter but over the years he's proved everybody wrong," Nowitzki said.
BOX SCORE: Thunder 112, Mavericks 105
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It was the Mavericks' second consecutive road win and the first time since April 2 that the Thunder lost consecutive games.
Dallas can close out the series at home and advance to its second NBA Finals in franchise history Wednesday (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET).
Nowitzki scored 12 points in the fourth quarter for the Mavericks. The Thunder thought they had leveled the series after Kevin Durant's three-pointer gave them a 99-84 lead, but Nowitzki outplayed him down the stretch.
After a two errants shots by Durant, the 7-footer had a jumper and a three-pointer to cut the Mavericks defict to 101-94.
Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook missed two free throws with 2:11 left, and Nowitzki answered with a difficult fallaway jumper over two defenders on the baseline.
"Dirk Nowitzki was great, making threes and contested jump shots," Durant said. "And they played great defense. We lost."
According to the numbers, the Thunder had no business dropping this game:
•They held a 55-33 rebounding edge, including 20-5 on the offensive boards, as Durant had a game-high 15 and Serge Ibaka 10.
•They had a 23-16 advantage in assists, led by Westbrook with game-high eight.
•They outscored the Mavs in the paint 54-36 as Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins combined for 24 points compared to 14 by Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood.
•They won blocked shots 9-2.
•They led 19-6 in fast-break points and 24-12 in second-chance points.
What undid Oklahoma City in the end, however, was turnovers. They had 25, 12 more than Dallas. Durant had a series-high nine and Westbrook six.
"That's hard to overcome against a very good Dallas team," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "I give our guys a lot of credit, they came and fought and did everything they can to win this game. It's unfortunate that we didn't come out with the win. Dallas outplayed us down the stretch."
Brooks was without sixth man James Harden because he foule dout 4:34 left in regulation. He picked up three fouls in a four-minute stretch and the Thunder went 1-for-9 and had three turnovers.
Ibaka, who had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City, tied it at 105 on a mid-range jump shot in overtime. But Kidd's three-pointer with 40.3 seconds left gave the Mavericks a lead they would never relinquish.
Durant, who was edgy all week and promising he'd be more aggressive in Game 4, was just that early. He got the Thunder off to a quick start with 10 first-quarter points.
He finished with 29 points and 15 rebounds, but Durant went cold and finished 9-for-22 shooting. With the score tied at 101 in regulation, Shawn Marion blocked his three-point attempt.
"Once we got to OT, we had to feel good about ourselves after being down 15," Nowitzki said. "We obviously talked about it in timeouts that we've got to go for it now. We're here and this is our ballgame."
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