Through two games of the 2011 NBA Finals, it’s come down to one simple acronym: A.B.C. – Always Be Closing. The team that has demonstrated more composure to close out contests and finished strong has taken each of the first two games of this series.

In Game One, the Miami HEAT dominated the second half with a 49-40 margin. A huge factor was the surprisingly strong play from a HEAT bench that dominated the Dallas Mavericks’ reserves, outscoring arguably the best bench in basketball 27-17.

Game Two saw Dallas erase a 15-point Miami lead with less than 6:30 left in the final frame. Led by Dirk Nowitzki, who outscored the HEAT 9-3 by himself over the final 2:44 of the fourth, Dallas mounted a 22-5 run to end the contest; stealing home court advantage as the series shifts to Dallas for Game Three.

Now, with three straight games coming up in Big D, the momentum has shifted squarely in the Mavericks’ favor. Miami must be able to shake off the epic collapse of Game Two with a full 48 minutes worth of consistent effort in Game Three. The HEAT are now fully aware that no lead is safe against a Mavericks’ team that has come back from double-digit fourth quarter deficits, on the road no less, in each round of this postseason.

The overall tempo of Game Two was much more in the Mavericks’ favor with both teams streaking up and down the court for the majority of the contest. Miami has a much better chance to take this series by playing a more methodical, Eastern Conference style of play. Although, with that being said, had the HEAT not gone into run the shot clock down mode in Game Two, they would have likely come out on top.

Let’s take a look at how the matchups have fared going into Game Three and how they may transpire in this pivotal contest Sunday night:

Point Guard: Mike Bibby vs. Jason Kidd

After being held scoreless in Game One, Mike Bibby brought back memories of his days sporting a Sacramento Kings’ jersey with a sweet stroke from behind the arc. Bibby knocked down five of his eight shot attempts (4-7 from deep) and scored a 2011 postseason-high 14 points in Game Two.

Jason Kidd has been old reliable for the Mavs at the point guard position. It’s rare he’ll break double-digits in the point column, but Kidd will drop some dimes and he’s the steadying force for Dallas on both ends of the court. Kidd also spent some time guarding Dwyane Wade in Game Two but, unlike his previous stints against the likes of Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant, he was asked to guard Wade for far too long and it showed.

Going into Game Three, it’s unlikely Bibby will have another throwback outing but I also doubt he’ll have a donut in the scoring department when the dust has settled. For Dallas, Kidd will be asked to do the same thing he is every time out: lead Dallas by doing a little bit of everything out there on the court.

Advantage: Mavericks

Shooting Guard: Dwyane Wade vs. DeShawn Stevenson

The shooting guard and small forward matchups here are somewhat interchangeable just because the Mavericks do so much switching on the defensive end, while Miami’s LeBron James can guard virtually anyone on the court.

However, in terms of Wade versus Stevenson, it’s a no-brainer in terms of who is going to win this matchup game-in, game-out. Wade is one of the best players in basketball and is coming off an explosive 36-point performance in Game Three. If there was some sort of lingering injury issue going into the Finals, it’s appeared to have been resolved.

Stevenson will be asked to make both Wade and James work for every basket and knock down a few open treys if he gets the opportunity on the offensive end. Sixth man Jason Terry will get the majority of the burn out there on the court from this position but, either way, Wade dominates the matchup hands down.

Advantage: HEAT

Small Forward: LeBron James vs. Shawn Marion

After battling Kevin Durant in the Western Conference Finals, Shawn Marion now has had the unenviable task of guarding arguably the game’s most diverse and athletic player. Going into Game Three, this matchup has been a lot closer than many people expected going into the Finals.

LeBron James has gotten his offensively, so to speak, but hasn’t has one of those explosive, take-over-the-game-type performances we’ve become accustomed to over the years. Meanwhile, Marion has quietly been a force on both ends of the floor. The Mavericks’ swingman is averaging 18 points per game through two contests and even matched James in the scoring department by dropping 20 points in Game Two.

Along with holding James to just 20 points, Marion filled up the rest of the stat sheet (eight rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block) and was a key driving force in the Mavericks’ comeback as he utilized some suffocating defense on both James and Wade late in the fourth quarter.

Sunday night it will be interesting to see how James bounces back from a subpar (for him) performance in Game Two. It wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone if James comes out like a man possessed in Game Three and finishes with a monster game.

James takes the matchup going into every game on paper, but Marion’s play in Game Two matched James stride for stride.

Game Two Advantage: Push

Game Three: HEAT

Power Forward: Chris Bosh vs. Dirk Nowitzki

Dirk Nowitzki was, plain and simple, the reason Dallas came back from the depths of a 15-point deficit and stole Game Two in Miami. While Chris Bosh is a skilled offensive player and rebounder, Nowitzki is one of the best players in the NBA and, as he showed in Game Two, has the ability to single-handedly will his team to victory.

{AUTHOR_BOX}Going into Game Three, it’s likely Bosh sees even less time checking Nowitzki on the defensive end — due largely to the way Nowitzki blew by him and over Udonis Haslem en route to the game winning lefty lay-in to cap Game Two. Haslem and Joel Anthony will see the most time guarding Nowitzki, while Tyson Chandler will continue to be called upon to keep Bosh in check.

In order for Dallas to win, Nowitzki must be the best player on the floor, while Bosh needs only to be the third best player on his own team for Miami to have a good shot at bringing home the W.  Bosh is going to get his 15 and eight in Game Three, but Nowitzki must continue to be a dominant force in order for the Mavericks to take their first series lead of the Finals.

Advantage: Mavericks

Center: Joel Anthony vs. Tyson Chandler

Through the first two games of the series, Anthony has been nearly non-existent in terms of his production on the offensive end but the HEAT center has made life difficult for Nowitzki on the other end of the floor. Chandler, after struggling mightily in Game One, responded in Game Two with a more workman-like effort — scoring 13 points and pulling down seven rebounds.

Each player is considered their respective team’s best interior defender and both are expected to continue that trend. This is a matchup Dallas expects to win every game this series and, if Chandler can pull through with a monster Game Three, Dallas will win Sunday.

The Mavericks’ 7-1 center is that type of X-Factor, especially in a series like this with the HEAT featuring Bosh (6-11) as their tallest player on the court.

Advantage: Mavericks

Bench: Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem, James Jones, and Mario Chalmers vs. Jason Terry, J.J. Barea, Peja Stojakovic and Brendan Haywood

The battle of the benches was a bit more like everyone expected it to be going into the series throughout Game Two. Led by former Sixth Man of the Year Jason Terry, the Mavericks’ reserves more than doubled up the HEAT bench and that was a deciding factor. Terry, who logs the majority of his minutes in crunch time, was especially potent during the Mavericks’ fourth quarter comeback — spurring the Dallas run by scoring eight of his 16 total points in the final frame.

The HEAT bench scored just 15 points for the contest as a whole.

Because of the immense talent discrepancy from the Mavericks’ group of former starters against the HEAT group of castoffs and journeymen, Dallas goes into every game expecting to win the reserve battle.

Through two games, the team producing more points off the bench has gone on to win the contest. The Mavericks hope that trend continues because it’s highly unlikely that the Miami bench reproduces it’s Game One magic again this series.

Advantage: Mavericks

Dallas holds the advantage in many of the aforementioned matchups but, as we’ve seen so much during this postseason, Wade, James and (to a lesser degree) Bosh have the ability to take over the game in a myriad of ways. It’ll be team versus trio yet again Sunday night and it’s going to be interesting to see who comes out on top.

Game Three is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST on Sunday at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas and can be seen nationally on ABC.