Miami Heat's Chris Bosh comes through in clutch; Miami beats Dallas 88-86 to lead series 2-1

At the end, Chris Bosh looked like a boxer, his left eye swollen and partially shut since the first quarter, when it was poked by Jason Kidd.

That eye looked good on him.

It fit his night, and that of his team.

"We knew this was not going to be easy," Bosh said. "I think it is symbolic of our season. You just have to keep coming."

Bruised by the media after its collapse in Game 2, and staggered by a series of Dallas jabs throughout Game 3, the Heat finally dropped the Mavericks in the closing round.

n the locker room prior to the game, James recited Jay-Z lyrics that were already audible through his headphones, lyrics like "you follow in my footsteps, you can't fail" and "someone call a waitress, baby, I'm a boss." After his Sunday morning promise to attack from the start, it was easy to figure he'd come out flying.

Bosh, who had spent two hours blinking, his fianceé noting his discomfort on Twitter from her courtside seat.

"I can see pretty good," Bosh would say later, wiping the eye with a tissue. "We'll spit on it, and put a Band-aid on it, and patch it up later."

How did it feel?

"I feel great," Bosh said. "As long as I feel as good as I do now, I'll be all right."

He felt great, because that 16-foot jumper had been fluid and true.