Mavs just a win away as LeBron, Heat wilt
Mavericks' Dirk Nowitzki celebrates a basket against the Heat in the fourth quarter during Game 5 Thursday night in Dallas. LUCY NICHOLSON/REUTERS
Sports Reporter
DALLAS—The game turned out not to be about LeBron James and now or never or engaged or detached or passive or aggressive.
The game turned out to be about the Dallas Mavericks turning into the Dallas Mavericks, finally, with crisp ball movement, deadly shooting, solid defence and a true team game that’s now given them momentary control of the NBA Finals.
Click here for photos of the game
With a barrage of three-pointers from the most unlikely of sources, the Mavs shot themselves into a 112-103 win over James and the Miami Heat here Thursday night, taking a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series before 20,433 delirious American Airlines Center fans.
“Last time we had a shooting game like this was Game 4 against the Lakers,” said Dallas coach Rick Carlisle after the Mavs made 13 of 19 three-pointers and shot 57 per cent from the floor. “That’s why you keep working your game, and that’s why you stay persistent, you keep defending, you keep systemically stepping into shots that are there and you’re going to have some breakthrough games. Persistence is our game.”
James, meanwhile, may have had the most pedestrian big-game triple-double in NBA playoff history in a game he said was the biggest of his career after tweeting early Thursday morning that it was “now or never.”
He did have 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists but he went scoreless in the fourth quarter again as the Mavericks once again pulled out the game in the final minutes.
He was a factor but not the difference and he’ll have to find other ways to increase his impact on the game when the series resumes Sunday in Florida.
“I don’t think so; I don’t believe so; no, I’m not,” James said when asked if he was feeling pressure. “We as a team played good enough to win, again. We put ourselves in a position to win down the stretch. Guys made plays, they just made a few more than we did.”
Dallas will be brimming with confidence after getting the best all-around game of the series and it was a series of unlikely shots that propelled them to the victory.
Jason Terry, who had drawn headlines for his talk throughout the series, backed up his words with his actions, hitting three three-pointers as part of a 21-point night.
His dagger of a three in the final minute that sealed the win for the Mavs and his celebration — racing back down the court with his arms extended like the Jet he fashions himself to be — was in stark contrast to the slow walk to the bench the Heat had as they tried to regroup with a timeout.
“Jet was phenomenal,” said Dirk Nowitzki, who had 29 points for the Mavs. “We need him to attack and get in the lane, it opens up a lot of stuff for everybody else out there.”
There may be other troubling issues for the Heat as well.
Dwyane Wade, who finished with a team-high 23 points, missed a large chunk of the first half and didn’t start the second because of a left hip bruise that could require constant treatment between now and Game 6.
“Way too early, we’ll have to see how it responds (Friday),” said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra. “When he’s able to sweat and keep it warm, he was fine. Fortunately, we have an extra day (before Sunday’s Game 6), we’ll see if that’s enough.”
Said Wade:
“No problem, I’ll be good for Game 6.”
A 9-0 fourth quarter run put the Heat up 95-90 midway through the fourth before Dallas put on one of its patented big finishes and Miami came up flat in the waning minutes.
And while the series now shifts to Miami for perhaps two games, history is on Dallas’s side. Of the 26 times in history that a final series had been tied 2-2, the winner of Game 5 has won the series on 19 occasions.
“Well, we’ve got to just continue to work the process, and for us the process is being in a stance, being tied together, being really tight defensively because they’re great players and put unbelievable pressure on you,” said Carlisle.
“We understand where we’re at but we also understand what got us here and that is making sure we stay in the moment.”
Originally published on thestar.com
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