For six seasons, Tim Hardaway was the Miami Heat floor leader and the guy who, for better or worse, often took the big shot.

This season, he left the Heat to join the Dallas Mavericks as a backup. For most of the season, that has meant finishing the game on the bench. Tuesday night at Target Center, he was back in a more familiar role on the floor.

Shortly after Hardaway nailed a pair of cold-blooded jump shots, the second a three-pointer, in the final minute of the Mavericks' stunning 107-103 comeback victory over the Timberwolves, he was asked what it felt like to have that responsibility again.

"If I have the ball in my hands, I feel like I'm going to make the shot," he said. "Nothing has changed with me."

A few minutes later, teammate Michael Finley was asked about the play that had set the table for those jumpers. It was a drive and dunk that just might be the prettiest anyone has ever seen at Target Center with a game on the line. He drove baseline and dunked over Joe Smith to tie the score at 98 with 1:17 to go.

"My coach called my number," the forward said. "When your coach calls your number, you have even more confidence that you have to go out and make the play. In that situation, you want to make sure you're either going to get fouled or going to get an easy basket so that means going to the basket."