Dallas takes Game5 112-103 at home to take a 3-2 lead in the series. The Mavs again closed the game out strong in the 4th qtr on a 15-3 run. Game6 is scheduled for Sunday night at 8PM ET in Miami. Game7 (if necessary) is scheduled for 9PM ET in Miami. MIAMI - Wade - 23pts, 8ast, 1blk LeBron - 17pts, 10rebs, 10ast, 1blk Bosh - 19pts, 10rebs, 1blk Chalmers - 15pts, 4ast, 2rebs Haslem - 10pts, 5rebs, 1blk DALLAS - Nowitzki - 29pts (10-10FT), 6rebs, 3ast Terry - 21pts, 4rebs, 6ast Barea - 17pts, 5ast Chandler - 13pts, 7rebs, 2blks Kidd - 13pts, 6asts, 3stls MIAMI - 52.9%FG, 8-20 3's, 36REBS DALLAS - 56.5%FG, 13-19 3's (68%), 26REBS NBA Finals History - Game5 winner after 2-2 series tie has gone on to win the title 73.1% of the time.
I watched the whole game, I didn't just read tweets you twat! LBJ did dominate, you can't just accidently fall into a triple-double. He was aggressive and played a good game. It's back to Miami, Dallas will have trouble taking another game in south beach. I still think Miami wins it. Don't get caught up in the 2-3-2 format; Dallas just had 3 straight home games, they're supposed to win atleast 2. Believe the hype! LBJ, Wade, and the Heat - 2010-2011 NBA Champs!
It's hard to beat 13 for 19 from the 3-point line. Only a hand-full of those were even open looks. If the Mavs shot their playoff average from 3, they would've lost by 9. LeBron had a great game, get over his point total. Even in the 4th, he created lay-ups for three teammates and was in on nearly every play.
I can't believe the national beatdown LBJ is taking for his play in the Finals. He had a triple-double last night and for the series.... 17.2ppg, 7.8rebs, 7asts, 1.8stls Not bad numbers for playing along side of Wade. I think the stat-line that best suits the Heat for LeBron is 20/8/8. He's not far off of that and may be there by the end of the series. What really jumps out to me is LBJ has only attempted 16 FTs for the series. He could put that up in one game if he was more aggressive. The time is now, if he steps up in Game6 and Game7, we will probably never remember this stretch.
No Royal Performance for James By John Hollinger, ESPN.com DALLAS -- LeBron James had a good game. Seventeen points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Perfectly fine, respectable production. I’d give him a solid B-plus. And that, in a nutshell, is the problem. This is LeBron James. The most talented player in the entire league. The guy who went to Miami specifically for these moments. The guy who said early Thursday, on his Twitter account, that it was “Now or Never.†The guy playing in the biggest game of his career to date. He was good. The situation demanded great. With the Mavs knocking down crazy shots and the Heat responding in kind for three quarters Thursday, it was a classic situation for King James to come through with a finishing flourish, put his foot on Dallas’ throat and take the series back to Miami for the clincher. Instead, for the fourth game in a row, King James was merely a viscount. Miami had a four-point lead with 4:37 left; from there, James missed two jumpers, committed an offensive foul and was beaten for two 3-pointers by Jason Terry. Granted, the second of those was a borderline miraculous shot, and the offensive foul call just as easily could have been a basket-and-one. And like I said, he had a pretty good game overall for almost any other NBA player. Just not for LeBron James. He made some nice passes, setting up three fourth-quarter layups that gave Miami its short-lived lead, and had a great contest on Shawn Marion in transition. On the other hand, he declined to take over when Dwyane Wade was out with a hip injury for the first seven minutes of the third quarter, taking three shots in 7:30. He rarely attacked when the Heat repeatedly posted him up through the first three quarters. And while he was more assertive in the fourth quarter than in Game 4’s debacle, he wasn’t any more effective. James had a triple-double, but his two points in the final stanza came on a basket that was basically conceded to him, after Terry’s game-clinching triple at the other end. Overall, he scored 17 points but needed 46 minutes to do it. The average NBA player this season, per 46 minutes, scored 18.9 points. He shot 8-of-19 without a single 3-pointer. That’s not good for anybody, let alone a player of this talent. He had two free throw attempts. TWO. This continued a series-long trend of James being either unable or unwilling to attack the rim -- he has only 16 free throw attempts for the series. He has 11 fourth-quarter points in five games, despite playing every minute of every fourth quarter. Eleven points in 60 minutes. That’s a wee bit south of superstar territory. Actually, it’s a wee bit south of Juwan Howard territory -- he averaged 14 points per 60 minutes this season. Every Miami player except Joel Anthony scored at a higher rate. Again, this isn’t just any random guy. This is a two-time MVP who was the most coveted free agent in NBA history. This is one of the best players of all time, regardless of what happens in the next few days. This is the reason the Heat had a championship parade last July ... because when they got LeBron, they got the promise of dominating games like this one. Or so they thought. This is the part where the typical writer reflex is to ascribe this problem to some failing of his character; I’m not going there. Certainly, James has succeeded in such situations before -- witness his one-man annihilation of Detroit in 2007 or his valiant conference finals series against Orlando in 2009 or his destruction of Chicago’s top-rated defense that happened, um, all of three weeks ago. So I don’t know why he’s been incapable of summoning such efforts in this series against what, on paper, is a very beatable Dallas defense. And I’m not informed enough to speculate. For posterity’s sake, I’ll also note that you can’t just pin this on LeBron. When the other team shoots 13-of-19 on 3s -- many of them crazy, pull-up, off-the-dribble tries -- the normal response is to kindly tip your hat and head to the airport. It’s also not his fault that Mike Bibby keeps being allowed on the court or that Anthony can’t catch a cold or that his teammates had 14 turnovers. But we knew Miami had these problems going in. And we thought the Heat would prevail anyway, because they had LeBron. Even with the Mavs hitting crazy shots, Miami would have won if the LeBron we expected had shown up. James’ subpar offensive efficiency is the main differentiator in the box score. It’s a recurrent theme: James is averaging 17.2 points and 3.2 free throw attempts in the Finals -- that’s nice. He averaged 25.8 and 8.8, respectively, against Chicago -- that’s awesome. And right now, that’s the difference. LeBron being good isn’t good enough. Miami needs great, and it's not getting it. With King James, the Heat will still win this series. But if Viscount James keeps showing up, they’re dead meat.
I'm not a Lebron hater or lover but to be fair when you think about the NBA Finals you think about names like M.Johnson, Abdul-Jabbar, Bird, Jordan...Lebron just hasn't flipped that switch that the truly great ones had.
You're exactly right. If he can flip that switch in Games6&7, he can put it all behind him. All he needs to do is hit an early jumper and get a dunk or 2 early on to get the home crowd going and get his confidence up. If not, it's going to be a looooong offseason for LBJ.
still never forget what he did in the playoffs against detroit....hope i never see anything like that from him ever again
Good point BN2/18/91. What happened to that player that we once worshiped and idled? He's no worse than he was then, he's actually better. But in his earlier years he had fun playing the game. Remember that smile, and all of the fun he would have on the bench and before and after games. Taking fake pictures, doing crazy high5 handshakes with teammates, and embracing the hype and believing that he was the KING? Now, it really seems like he's feeling the pressure of the media and the Finals and he's starting to doubt himself. He looks to me like he dreads going to WORK now, instead of enjoying playing a GAME. The moment seems too big. He obviously wants to win but it appears to me that he just wants this season to end so he can get away from the spotlight. The LeBron that we knew in Cleveland loved the spotlight but 'the decision' has made that spotlight so bright that it's blinding him. I'm 100% convinced that [today] LBJ wishes that he would've stayed in Cleveland and tried to win in his comfort zone at home in front of fans that still would've worshiped him. He still would've been the most liked player in the NBA across the country, not the villain that he has become. If he can turn it around in the next 2 games at home and play to his potential and win the title, than his 'decision' will be justified. Untill LeBron ultimately wins a championship in Miami, I believe that if he could, he would take back his decision to take his talents to South Beach, which resulted in him appearing to be miserable, and also becoming one of sports biggest villain-aires, instead of being a happy millionaire at home in Cleveland. -Phatty
If Dallas doesn't close it out in game 6 then it's a lock Miami wins it in 7. Games 6 and 7 are in Miami right?
Dallas takes Game6 105-95 in Miami to win the 2010-2011 NBA Championship 4-2. Dirk Nowitzki was named Finals MVP. MIAMI LeBron - 21pts, 4rebs, 6asts, 1 blk Wade - 17pts, 8rebs, 6asts, 2blks Bosh - 19pts, 8rebs Chalmers - 18pts, 3rebs, 7asts Haslem - 11pts, 9rebs DALLAS Dirk Nowitzki - 21pts, 11rebs, 9-27FG Jason Terry - 27pts, 3rebs, 2asts Jason Kidd - 9pts, 4rebs, 8asts J.J. Berea - 15pts, 3rebs, 5asts Marion - 12pts, 8rebs MIAMI - 47.2%FG, 7-23 3's, 39REBS DALLAS - 50%FG, 11-26 3's, 40REBS It's going to be a long offseason for LeBron James and the Miami Heat.