Estos errores fortuitos disminuyeron la moral de los Dallas. Los valientes Maverick se preguntaban si era la falta de suerte, no una mala actitud. En realidad, el éxito de los Knicks estaba basado en sus propias jugadas clave y no simplemente en la buena suerte.
Los Mavericks continuaron luchando pero no pudieron acortar la diferencia. Even con Monta Ellis subiendo de nivel, Dallas no podía hacerlo; ni siquiera Marcin Hil, que ya había completado tres años, parecía ser un rival en esta noche.
La audiencia de Nueva York estaba al borde del colapso emocional. ¿Cómo podrían ganar este campeonato? ¿Deberían permitir a los Mavericks ganar una victoria para mantener la moral?
El tercer cuarto se convirtió en una competencia más que un juego; con ambos equipos cambiando de formación, el Madison Square Garden anunciaba que la competición se había convertido en una mera formalidad. Wu Huang confirmó su intención de ganar el campeonato.
Wu Huang fue entrevistado después del partido y explicó: "Sí, la victoria es importante para mí; necesito esa sensación. Yao Ming me dijo que hay un dicho chino: 'un primer empujón nos da impulso, pero dos o tres veces más ya es difícil'. Me enseñó a seguir ganando sin dejar de luchar. Acordé con él y planeamos una gran victoria en el juego tres".
Luego agregó: "Espero que todos sigan mi ejemplo. Cuando gano, quiero seguir ganando; cuando pierdo, quiero mantenerme fuerte. Esto es un valor preciado y me estoy esforzando por tenerlo. Usaría un proverbio chino, 'en el honor no temblamos, en la humillación no nos emocionamos'".
Los fans de Nueva York exclamaron: "¡Qué genial! Los dichos chinos son tan cool. ¡Yo también quiero aprenderlos!"Guan Wang still managed to stay calm in this situation, which surprised many people. This guy was truly unpredictable; every time he found himself at a disadvantage, his arrogance could make one wish to beat him up. However, when he had the upper hand, he became even more composed. Many journalists wanted to ask: Aren't you crazy? Shouldn't normal people act arrogantly in this situation? For example, jumping around on their opponent's bench or making snide remarks about their illness; or uttering something like "I'm already thinking about what I'll do after winning the next round/championship." These were actions that a normal person would take. Guan Wang stated that such behavior was foolish. The thing he couldn't understand was why people who gained an advantage became overconfident and forgot their caution. Those people never considered: If you lead by 30 points, why can’t the other team come back with 30 points? If they are ahead of you by 30 points, why shouldn’t you be able to close the gap by 30 points? Only when one holds such thoughts would they truly remain unperturbed in victory or defeat. Guan Wang did not believe that the old hands on the Mavericks understood these principles; thus, he thought it better for him not to act arrogantly. The more his team led, the more cautious he became, showcasing the careful side of his character.
On the contrary, whenever he was at a disadvantage, the arrogant side of his personality would surface and dominate. At that moment, even though his team was trailing 0-3 in the series, Guan Wang had the audacity to declare a comeback. His thoughts were: Why can't I come back after they win three consecutive games against me?
"After we never encountered such situations; it feels like we've fallen into hell," Carles told with disappointment. The entire game for the Mavericks was akin to a nightmare from the second quarter onwards, as they almost shot without rhythm, making efforts that were considered very foolish by Carles after the match.
Bjorkgren scored 25 points and grabbed six rebounds alone but could not save his team. He even failed to help narrow the gap to less than 20 points.