Dallas Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki (L) goes up for a basket as he is covered by Miami Heat's Joel Anthony (R) in the first half during Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series in Dallas, June 7, 2011. REUTERS

DALLAS - The Dallas Mavericks put on a late surge to overwhelm the Miami Heat and win 86-83 on Tuesday, tying the NBA finals series at 2-2.

Dirk Nowitzki shook off three poor quarters and illness to score 10 of his 21 points in the final period as the Mavericks outscored the Miami Heat 21-9 over the final 10:12.

"We just played with incredible heart and passion," Dallas center Tyson Chandler said.

Miami's Dwyane Wade scored 32 points, but fumbled an inbounds pass with 6.7 seconds left. He knocked the ball back to Mike Miller for a potential tying 3-pointer, but his hurried shot wasn't even close to hitting the rim.

Chris Bosh scored 24 points for Miami, but the Heat got a stunningly unproductive game from their biggest star, LeBron James. He scored only eight points, making just 3 of 11 shots. He contributed nine rebounds and seven assists.

Nowitzki opened the game looking just fine, making his first three shots. But then he missed 10 of 11, and missed a free throw for the first time since Game 4 of the conference finals.

With the game and likely the series on the line _ no team has come back from a 3-1 deficit in the finals_ Nowitzki found his best form. The German made only 2 of 6 shots, but that included a terrific layup with 14.4 seconds left to put Dallas up by two; as usual he made all six of his free throws.

He was affected by illness during the game.

"We all seen him go through walkthroughs," Chandler said. "Every time he started to talk he started coughing. He was wheezing."

Miami led 74-65 early in the fourth quarter, and the way Nowitzki was playing, the Mavericks didn't seem capable of pulling off another rally like the 22-5 finish that won Game 2.

Yet Jason Terry made consecutive baskets, and the surge was on. Terry ended up capping it with two free throws with 6.7 seconds left that forced Miami to need a 3-pointer.