Miami seemed totally in control of this series with a 2-1 lead, and frankly the Heat have pretty much owned 15 of the 20 quarters of this series. The problem is that the one quarter Miami has had problems with is the fourth quarter. This was never more evident than in Game 5. Trailing 99-95 with less than five minutes left, the Mavericks went on a 10-1 blitz to take a 105-100 lead. It was the key portion of a 17-4 bashing they gave the Heat to finish the game as Dallas won 112-103. The Heat has led in the fourth quarter of every loss during the Finals. Those 112 points were the most Miami has given up in these playoffs.

Dallas knew it needed to win because since the NBA went to the 2-3-2 format, the team heading home with a 3-2 lead has never lost the championship.

And what’s up with LeBron James? Yeah he had a triple-double in Game 5 after managing just eight points in Game 4, but James scored just two fourth-quarter points in Game 5. That gives him 11 fourth-quarter points in five Finals games. He was just 8 of 19 from the field and just 1 of 2 from the line, continuing the troubling inability to get to the line, now with just 16 foul shots in the five games. In the fourth quarters of this series, Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki has outscored James 52-11, including 24-3 at the free-throw line.

Mavs sixth man Jason Terry again came up big in Game 5. Terry finished with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 3-of-5 shooting from three-point range. The Mavericks were 13-of-19 shooting from behind the arc. When he’s on, Dallas wins. In the two Mavs’ losses, he has zero fourth-quarter points. And it’s probably no coincidence that Dallas has won two straight since it inserted J.J. Barea into the starting lineup. He had 17 points in Game 5.

The big injury to watch is to Miami’s Dwyane Wade. He missed portions of Game 5 with a hip injury but certainly will play today. The question is whether that limits him. The two days off following Thursday’s game should help. Wade, who finished with 23 points, acknowledged he wasn’t 100 percent by the end of Game 5. Mavs center Brendan Haywood has played just a few minutes in the past three games because of a hip injury, missing Games 3 and 5, but hopes to return for Game 6.

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