NBA Notes: Payton's winner just "one shot"

MIAMI — In Gary Payton's mind, the shot he made with nine seconds left, the shot that saved the Miami Heat's season, was no biggie.

Sure, it was the only shot he attempted in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night. And yeah, he was 1 for 8 in the series against the Dallas Mavericks before he let a jumper go with the clock winding down and the score tied at 95.

But after 16 years in the league and 21,000-plus career points, it's hard to excite the ex-Sonic with one little jumper, no matter the dramatic circumstances.

"It's one shot," Payton said. "That shot ain't going to define my career, or nothing like that."

It just might define this series, though. His shot led to Miami's 98-96 stolen victory, a game in which the Heat trailed by 13 points with 6 ½ minutes to play.

For now, all it means is the Heat doesn't have the unenviable challenge of coming back from a 3-0 hole. The best-of-seven series is 2-1 in the Mavericks' favor heading into tonight's game in Miami. Payton had struggled through the series, contributing only two points before his winner.

So even though Dwyane Wade was Miami's biggest hero Tuesday, scoring 15 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter while playing on a sore leg, Payton's shot packed a bigger emotional punch. It was a bad one for Dallas, and an uplifting one for the Heat, happy to see one of its veteran leaders find his way once again.

"Regardless of the way Gary's been playing, regardless of that, if [coach Pat Riley] wasn't confident in him, and we weren't confident in him, then he wouldn't have played [Tuesday]," Heat center Alonzo Mourning said. "He wouldn't have played the minutes he's been playing. I think Riles, he lives and dies with his veterans."

But Payton said he didn't need that shot to fall to lift his confidence. At 37, confidence never leaves this seven-time All-Star.

"I don't care about that," Payton said. "I have that confidence that I'm going to take a shot anytime, anywhere. I don't care where it's at. I'm going to take a shot, and I'm not going to go back and cry. If I miss, I miss. That's it. I think I've been playing basketball too long in my life to cry because I miss one shot."

Notes

• Indiana Pacers G Sarunas Jasikevicius has elected not to join the Lithuanian national team for the world championships this summer.

• The league announced that the Heat will play an exhibition game against the Detroit Pistons in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Oct. 10.