The series was over.

The Larry O'Brien trophy was being polished, Dallas city officials had finished planning the parade route, and Kobe Bryant had already ordered a case of Moet from his local wine and spirits store.

Down 13 points with 6:34 left in the 4th quarter, many believed that it would take no less than a superhuman effort to save the Miami Heat from an insurmountable 3-0 deficit in the NBA Finals.

Make that, a superhero's effort.

Mild-mannered Dwyane Wade - Sean John model by day, all-world shooting guard by night - completely dominated the final six-and-a-half minutes of last night's contest, leading the Heat to a 98-96 win over the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The man who is affectionately known as "Flash" finished with 42 points, becoming the youngest player to drop 40-plus in an NBA Finals game since Magic Johnson in 1980.

"He just rises to the occasion," said Heat coach Pat Riley, following the game. "You just couldn't stop him."

Of course not, especially on a stage such as this. The NBA Finals has historically been a place where stars are born, legends are made, and superheroes do exactly what we expect them to do. Take the big shots, make a statement on defense and dominate every facet of the game. Last night, Wade did all of that and more.

Despite drawing his fifth foul with 10:56 left in the game, Wade played the fourth quarter with reckless abandon. A jumper with just over six minutes to go cut the Mavs' lead to 11. A three-point play 40 seconds later made it an eight-point margin. The comeback was in full swing.

Wade brought the Heat to within three with 3:36 left in the fourth quarter. After Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki knocked down a pair of free throws, it was time for another superhero to make his presence felt.

Shaquille O'Neal, an imposing figure who refers to himself as "The Big Aristotle", had previously pulled The Big Disappearing Act in the two games in Big D. But even Superman knew that he needed to come up big at the end of Game 3. After he was fouled by Erick Dampier with just under two minutes left in the game, Shaq, who had gone 2-for-16 from the charity stripe in Games 1 and 2, channeled his inner Calvin Murphy and calmly knocked down two free throws. The Miami crowd responded in kind.

This series of events was in sharp contrast to a third quarter in which the Mavericks outscored the Heat 34-16, turning a 52-43 halftime deficit into a nine-point lead heading into the fourth. Dallas shot 70 percent in the third quarter, led by Nowitzki, who finished the game with 30 points on 9-for-20 shooting. Mavericks' forward Josh Howard had a stellar performance as well, chipping in 21 points in his best game of the series. When all was said and done, however, the Mavs wound up on the wrong side of the ledger.

Not to be discounted in the Heat comeback is the play of Udonis Haslem, who collected 8 points and pulled down 13 boards in 34 gritty minutes. But there's no question that the night belonged to The Flash. Yet despite Wade's heroics, the game-winning shot came from a Finals veteran who had scored only one basket in this year's series.

These days, the Glove fits more like a mitten - Gary Payton no longer has the Doberman-like intensity he used to possess on the defensive end of the court. But when crunch time rolls around, ice water still flows in the veins of the Heat's 37-year-old point guard. With the score tied and less than 10 seconds to go, Payton's 20-footer that gave Miami a 98-96 lead seemed to be the coup de grace.

One small problem: the villains weren't quite dead yet.

Nowitzki was fouled by Haslem on a drive to the basket with 1.4 seconds left, giving the 90 percent free-throw shooter a chance to tie the game. The German-born forward - with strains of David Hasselhoff's "Looking For Freedom" running through his head - inexplicably missed the second free throw, and the rebound was corralled by Dwyane Wade, his 13th rebound of the game. After Wade was fouled and split two free throws of his own, Dallas had a chance to either tie or win the game on an inbounds play with one second left. Once again, the Flash was heroic, knocking away an alley-oop attempt by Howard as the buzzer sounded.

Last night was the first time in 26 games this year (including the playoffs) that Dallas had lost despite Howard going off for 20 points or more. Now, instead of holding a commanding 3-0 series lead, the Mavs' only have a 2-1 advantange, with the next two games in south Florida. The 2006 NBA Finals is a series once again, thanks to a league of extraordinary gentlemen who never lost sight of their goal.

"We don't like to lose but again give the Heat some credit," Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. "They made some nice adjustments. They played hard. They didn't quit."

Of course they didn't. Superheroes never quit.

The Justice League is victorious once again.

Keep that champagne on ice.