Chris Bosh thrives in the public eye

Bosh was alone. With the game tied and 40 seconds remaining in Game 3, Tyson Chandler left the Miami Heat power forward on the left baseline in order to stop LeBron James’ penetration into the lane. As Chandler met James at the foul line, James immediately turned to his right and flipped a backhanded pass to Bosh, who had missed 11 of his previous 17 shots on the night.

“I saw CB wide open,” James said. “I don't care if he missed 15 in a row, he was wide open and that's his sweet spot."

Without hesitation, Bosh rose up and knocked down the jumper, instantly bringing the 20,000 Dallas Mavericks fans to a hush in AmericanAirlines Center.

Heat 88, Mavericks 86 -- the final score of Game 3.

Following the game, Bosh was alone on another stage, sitting down at the postgame podium and peering into the sea of media. With a tissue in hand, Bosh dabbed at the moisture from his swollen eye.

Considering how violently Bosh writhed on the floor in the first quarter, a return in Game 3 seemed unlikely -- never mind draining the eventual game-winning shot. He had just gotten poked in the eye by Jason Kidd, who swiped his hand at Bosh when he made a move past Chandler. Bosh fell to the ground grabbing his face, and the Mavericks went the other way and hit a 3-pointer against the shorthanded Heat.

How did his eye feel at the time?

“Open your eye like this,” Bosh said after the game, spreading his eye lid open with his left hand. “I’ll poke you in it.”

The injury clearly bothered Bosh, who has been mired in one of the worst shooting slumps of his career. After the swipe, Bosh missed five of his next seven shots while coughing up the ball twice -- all before halftime. He missed point-blank layups and flubbed dunks in traffic. Bosh, who had averaged 8.9 rebounds in the playoffs entering Sunday’s game, finished the first half with just one rebound.

Bosh said after the game that his vision isn’t limited by the swelling.

“I can see pretty good,” Bosh said. “I don’t know what it is. We’ll spit on it, put a band-aid on it and patch it up later.”

Still, Bosh maintains that there wasn’t any doubt that he would return.

“I think it’s just symbolic of our season, everything,” Bosh said. “You just have to keep overcoming. If you lose Game 2 at home, blow a 15-point lead and you’re out on the road and everything is against you, you have to get it done. I thought it was quite fitting that I got poked in the eye early.”