The 7-foot German forward, playing with a torn tendon in his left hand, notched Dallas' final nine points in a 24-point haul which included the winning layup with just three seconds left.
He was injured late in the fourth quarter of Game One as he competed for the ball with Heat's Chris Bosh, forcing him to wear a splint on his damaged finger for the rest of the series.
Leading 88-73 in the final quarter, Miami looked to be easing to a priceless 2-0 series lead. Dwayne Wade helped himself to an impressive 36 points to finish the game as the leading scorer, while fellow superstar LeBron James added 20 points.
But Dallas, who lost four games in a row in Miami when the two sides met in the 2006 finals, refused to capitulate as guard Jason Terry led the comeback with two quick jump shots and some valuable assists. Teammate Shawn Marion was another standout as he finished with 20 points and eight rebounds.
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra admitted the defeat was one of the "toughest losses he has had to endure."
"No question about it, that's about as tough a fourth quarter you can have. When it started to slide, it just kept on going," he told reporters, in quotes carried by Reuters.com.
But he remained confident that his charges can regain the initiative.
"We're a resilient group," he said. "By the time we get on that plane tomorrow, we'll get our minds and body and spirit ready for Game Three. This is a long series. So we're not happy about what happened, but we've got an opportunity in game three."
The series now switches to Dallas on Sunday for the next three games.
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