Miami 's LeBron James goes up for a dunk against Dallas defender Ian Mahinmi (28) during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals Sunday night in Dallas. The Heat won, 88-86, to take a 2-1 lead in the series.

DALLAS — Back in Dallas, the site of his greatest triumph, Dwyane Wade knew exactly what to do.

The NBA finals were up for grabs and he was determined to seize control.

Wade began setting the tone in practice the day before Game 3 and never let up. Soaring to the rim, chasing every loose ball and demanding the best from his teammates, Wade guided the Miami Heat to an 88-86 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night that puts them two wins from the championship. Game 4 is Tuesday.

“(I) took it upon myself as a leader to try to lead my guys by example,” he said. “I was very aggressive going to the hole practicing. My teammates seen it. They can tell that I wanted this game, and I came in with the same mentality today.”

Wade led Miami with 29 points and 11 rebounds, yet there was so much more to his performance.

There were timely shots, such as scoring seven of Miami’s final nine points, and smart plays on defense, such as flustering Dirk Nowitzki into passing instead of taking a potential go-ahead shot in the final half-minute.

The 2006 finals MVP also dished out harsh words and uplifting ones for LeBron James, Chris Bosh and anyone else he thought needed them.

Regardless of what Wade specifically said, his teammates fed off the passion and intensity behind them.

“At this point there’s no room to hold anything back,” James said. “As a competitor, you love when guys challenge you. He challenged me in the locker room at halftime. He challenged me on the court. ... I respect that.”

Miami was coming off a devastating loss in Game 2, having blown a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter. The Heat again made things tough on their fans, letting a 14-point lead slip away then almost coughing up an 81-74 lead with 6:31 left.

Dirk Nowitzki, who scored the final nine points in Dallas’ winning rally in Miami on Thursday night, topped himself by scoring 12 straight points down the stretch — six free throws, a layup, a dunk and a tough jumper that tied it at 86.

But on the Mavericks’ final two possessions, Nowitzki threw a pass out of bounds and missed off the back iron as time ran out.

Bosh hit the winning shot with 39.6 seconds left