NBA Finals Game 5: Miami at Dallas (June 9) Brendan Haywood was out with his strained right hip flexor and Dallas stuck with J.J. Barea in the starting lineup. Chris Bosh opened the scoring with a jump hook and a layup by Jason Kidd with 10:20 left got Dallas on the board. After the teams traded 2 points (over the next 2 minutes) Dallas went on a 9-2 run to take a 13-6 lead with 7:20 to go and Dallas would hold a small lead over the next 7 minutes. Brian Cardinal was (incorrectly) called for a block on Dwyane Wade and Wade left the game with 3 minutes left with a left hip contusion - he did return a few minutes into the 2nd quarter. Dallas led 27-21 with 1:55 remaining and Miami closed the quarter with a 10-3 run, capped by a halfcourt running 3-pointer by Mario Chalmers at the quarter buzzer, to give Miami a 31-30 lead after 1. As seen by the score, both teams were shooting well as Miami shot 11-20 FG including 3-4 3-pointers and Dallas shot 11-18 FG including 2-3 3-pointers. Miami shot 6-6 FT (all by Wade) and Dallas shot 6-9 FT. LeBron James got an offensive putback to open the 2nd quarter, but a 3-pointer by Jason Terry tied the game at 33-33 with 11:10 to go and the game stayed close. A 3-pointer by Chalmers gave Miami a 45-41 lead with 7:45 left, but Barea answered with a 3-pointer. Miami then scored the next 5 points (over a 2 minute span) to take a 50-44 lead with 5:45 remaining, but 6 points would be the largest lead of the quarter. A layup by James gave Miami a 52-46 lead with 4:25 left and Dallas went on a 12-2 run, capped by a pull-up jumper by Terry, to go up 58-54 with 45 seconds left. A 3-pointer by Chalmers and jumper by Dirk Nowitzki closed the quarter. Dallas led 60-57 at the half. Dallas out-scored Miami 30-26 in the 2nd quarter as Dallas was white hot in shooting 12-17 FG including 3-4 3-pointers while Miami shot well at 9-19 FG including 2-7 3-pointer. Dallas shot 3-5 FT and Miami shot 6-8 FT. Nowitzki had 10 points in the 2nd quarter and Bosh had 9 points. Wade was out to open the 3rd quarter due to his injury but did return with 4:30 left in the quarter and played the rest of the game. Mike Miller started the 3rd in Wade's place and gave the Heat some punch with 2 3-pointers early in the quarter (the first to open the quarter and tie the game, the 2nd after a 3-pointer by Barea gave Dallas a 5 point lead). A jumper by James tied the game at 65-65 with 9 minutes remaining, but 5 straight points by Nowitzki and a 3-pointer by Barea after a bucket by Joel Anthony gave Dallas a 73-67 lead with 6:30 left. Kidd found an open Tyson Chandler under the basket for the dunk to give Dallas their largest lead at 80-71 with 3:45 to go. But Miami scored the next 4 points and the game's lead remained in single-digits. Dallas led 84-79 after 3. Dallas out-scored Miami 24-22 in the 3rd quarter as Dallas shot 10-20 FG including 4-7 3-pointers and Miami shot 8-15 FG including 2-4 3-pointers. Miami shot 4-4 FT and Dallas did not get to the line in the 3rd. Miami had 5 turnovers in the quarter on which Dallas scored 11 points. So, as usual in this series, it was yet again going to come down to the 4th quarter as neither team had control of the game. 2 free throws by Nowitzki gave Dallas a 90-83 lead with 10:15 remaining, but Miami scored the next 5 points (2 layups and 1-2 FT) to pull within 90-88 with 8:30 left. After Barea hit a 3-pointer with 8:10 to go, Miami had another push in James feeding Wade for a layup on the break, Nowitzki hitting 2 free throws, James feeding Haslem for a layup, James feeding Wade for a layup on the break, and Wade feeding Haslem for a dunk to give Miami a 96-95 lead with 5:15 remaining and Dallas called timeout (as their zone defense was not working). It was Miami's first lead since late in the 2nd quarter. Out of the timeout, Nowitzki's jumper went in-and-out and at the other end, Wade nailed a straight up 3-pointer to give Miami a 99-95 lead with 4:35 left. Nowitzki got Bosh in the air resulting in a foul and he hit both free throws with 4:20 remaining. The teams traded turnovers and Bosh was fouled inside. He hit 1-2 FT to give Miami a 100-97 lead with 3:40 left. But Nowitzki found Terry up top for an open 3-pointer to tie the game. James missed a jumper and Terry found Nowitzki in the corner and Nowitzki drove baseline for the quick dunk to give Dallas a 102-100 lead with 2:45 remaining. Wade passed to James on the baseline and he turned into Chandler and was called for a charge. Marion missed up close and James was long on a 3 attempt with 1:50 to go. Terry drove and kicked out to an open Kidd behind the arc on the elbow and he drained a 3 with 1:25 left and Miami called timeout. Wade turned the ball over, but Marion missed a layup on the break and Miami pushed the ball the other way, but Chandler got the clean block on Wade (and it was Miami ball out of bounds with a minute left). Bosh was fouled inside and hit 1-2 FT to pull Miami within 101-105 with 55 seconds remaining - it was Miami's first points in 2:45. Terry took a dribble-rhythm and then rose up and nailed a 3-pointer over James to make it a 7 point game with 33 seconds to go and Miami called timeout. James drove for an uncontested layup (as Dallas did not want to risk a 3-point play) with 30 seconds left - it was Miami's first field goal in over 4 minutes. Kidd was intentionally fouled and hit both free throws to give Dallas a 110-103 lead with 25 seconds left and Miami called their last timeout. Wade missed a quick 3-pointer and Terry was intentionally foul and his 2 free throws capped the scoring. Dallas won 112-103. Dallas leads the series 3-2. Woohoo! It is Dallas' first lead of the series and the Mavs are now one win from the Championship. But it is not as easy as that, as the Heat constantly pointed out after the game, as Game 6 and (if necessary) Game 7 are in Miami and the series is basically on homecourt standing (with each having won on the other team's court). It is also the first time that Miami has lost consecutive games in the playoffs (or since March). And in a change from the previous games in the series, it was a high scoring affair as both teams had their shots falling and the defenses were not as strong as they have been. And the 4th was a series of runs with Miami scoring 9 straight points to take a 99-95 lead with 4:35 left, but Dallas then closed the game with a 17-4 run to get the win. The largest lead of the game was just 9 points. The stat of the night was Dallas shot a white hot 13-19 3-pointers. And they weren't bad in front of the arc and the Mavs shot 56.5% (39-69) FG overall. Miami also shot well at 52.9% (37-70) FG including 8-20 3-pointers. Both teams made 21 free throws with Dallas shooting 21-27 FT and Miami shooting 21-26 FT. Miami had 18 turnovers (including 4 in the 4th quarter) on which Dallas scored 21 points and Dallas had 11 turnovers on which Miami scored 15 points. Dallas did lack in rebounding, but their hot shooting saved them. Miami out-rebounded Dallas 36-26 including 9-4 offensive (with 26 rebounds setting the team playoff record low). Both teams passed well with Dallas having 23 assists and Miami had 25 assists. So, Game 6 is Sunday. Let's go MAVS!!! It was not a one-player game for Dallas as the Mavs had 5 players in double-digit scoring and all 9 who played contributed to the win. Dirk Nowitzki was the high man with 29 points including 10-10 FT and 6 rebounds. 8 of his points came in the 4th quarter. Jason Terry had 21 points, including 8 in the 4th quarter, and 6 assists, including 2 down the stretch in the 4th quarter. And Jason Kidd had a critical 3 during the game winning run and finished with 13 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals. J.J. Barea had some of his layups and his 3-ball was falling as he had 17 points including 4-5 3-pointers. Barea also had 5 assists in 26 minutes. Tyson Chandler chipped in 13 points and 7 rebounds and Shawn Marion had 8 points on 4-11 FG, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Brian Cardinal hit a 3 and shot 1-2 FT for 4 points (and it was his attempted charge-taking that resulted in Dwyane Wade's hip contusion) in 10 minutes. DeShawn Stevenson was in there for his defense and had 4 points in 14 minutes. Ian Mahinmi played back-up center and contributed 3 points and 1 rebound in 8 minutes and also set a nice screen that resulted in a Barea 3-pointer. And it was also a balanced attack for Miami as the Heat had 5 players in double-digit scoring. Despite missing some time in the first 3 quarters (and he played all 12 minutes of the 4th), Dwyane Wade had a team high 23 points on 6-12 FG and 10-12 FT. 10 of his points came in the 4th quarter (but missed his last 2 shots). He also had 8 assists, but also had 4 turnovers in 34 minutes. The Heat downplayed his hip contusion and said he was fine and would be fine for Game 6. From the sheet, it looked like LeBron James was great with a triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, but from watching the game, he seemed to have a quiet outing, except for that little spurt where he was assisting and scoring during Miami's 9-0 4th quarter run. But after he got the triple (with 5:50 left), he didn't have a single rebound or assist the rest of the way and his only points were the 2 that Dallas basically gave him in an uncontested layup (instead of an open 3-pointer or risking an and-1) - and those 2 were also his only points in the 4th. James also had 4 turnovers. Chris Bosh had a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds including 6 offensive, but also had 4 turnovers. After a poor Game 4, Mario Chalmers had his shot going again in connecting on 4-6 3-pointers (his only shots) and 3-3 FT for 15 points. He also had 4 rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench. Mike Miller chipped in 9 points on 3-4 3-pointers (and 0-1 2-pointers) and had 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 23 minutes. Udonis Haslem had 10 points and 5 rebounds in 33 minutes. Starter Joel Anthony hit his only shot and had 3 fouls for his only other stats (no rebounds) in 16 minutes. And starter Mike Bibby remains a positive for Dallas with just 2 points and 2 rebounds and no assists in 15 minutes and is unable to guard Jason Kidd or J.J. Barea. Juwan Howard did play well in his brief time with 6 points on 3-3 FG in 6 minutes. The surprise of the night was when Eddie House was subbed in - his first court time of the series. He played 3 minutes and missed 2 shots and had a rebound, a steal, a turnover, and a foul. Quotes Rick Carlisle: "We made more shots. We did a lot of good things defensively, which led to good offense. Look, I don't know, did Chicago score 100 the first game of that series? That was one time they did? You never know when the games are going to go that way. The thing we got to do is we got to make sure our defense is consistent." Carlisle on Terry: "He played great. He played great. During periods where Dirk was out of the game, we were going to him, and he was delivering. Those are tough stretches of minutes for us, because it's just tough when Dirk is out of the game. But it's the total game that we've all been preaching to JET really since the playoffs began. And tonight he did a terrific job." Carlisle on being up 3-2: "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. We understand where we're at, but we also understand what got us here, and that is making sure we stay in the moment." Carlisle on the huddle before the comeback: "Well, we have to get some penetration and get the ball in the basket and we have to get some stops. They were able to do that. They were able to do that. Miami, they keep coming at you. They keep coming at you. They got guys that really attack. Their bigs are very versatile. They're very tough to guard." Carlisle: "Barea's penetration was terrific. He got going with his outside game and his inside game, which really helped us. Look, we threw in some difficult shots, but when you play as hard as we've been playing, the basketball gods tend to be kinder to you. We have had some tough luck shooting the ball. Tonight I thought the way we hung in and the wherewithal we showed and played with helped us get over the hump a little bit." Carlisle: "Both teams are shooting the 3 well. They shot 40%. They made 8-20, which is a big number for the playoffs. 13 is a big number. You get hot, you get on a roll, and you can have a night like that. They don't happen very often. Last time we had a shooting night like this was Game 4 against the Lakers. That's why you just 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. We're an old-school team. We're not high fliers. We have a couple of guys that can get up in the air a little bit. Our game is near the ground. We have to play with brains and guts." Carlisle on Dallas playing well in the halfcourt: "Well, I would think that a lot of time we were getting stops that led to those situations. Look, we made some tough shots, and we had some good momentum in our offense tonight, and that helps." Carlisle on Cardinal: "Yeah, terrific. Last 2 games, I mean, he's really a unique player. So resourceful defensively, always around the ball. He's always going to be there taking charges and he's going to be making contact with people. I thought the block that was called on him may have been the wrong call. I thought he was in position. I thought Wade came right through his chest. He's going to be there, and when he's on the floor, you know, we become a more active defensive team for sure." Carlisle on Mahinmi: "He did a terrific job for us. And with Haywood out, looking at the thing, I wasn't sure where those backup center minutes were going to come, whether it was going to be Marion playing with some hybrid lineups or whether there would be an opportunity to get Ian out there. Because I believe he can help us, because he's very active and he played a lot of very effective minutes for us during the regular season. But he helped us tonight, for sure." Carlisle on Wade going out and if Wade was slow in the 4th: "Not to me, but, you know. I mean he was still driving it good and getting to the free throw line. I'm not sure what happened to him. The guy that started for him hit 2 3s that started the half. Didn't look like they lost a whole lot." Carlisle on Terry: "He's been playing well, really. If you look at the whole playoffs, he's been playing terrific all-around basketball. With a great player like that Dirk, a guy of that magnitude, everybody wants to try to find who the #2 scorer is, which guy has got to score the 2nd most points, or whatever. JET is a great scorer, he's a great shooter, and he's a great player. But he's a terrific all-around player. He used to play point guard exclusively, so he has a lot of experience as a play-maker. In situations in the playoffs where a guy like him draws attention, sometimes he's going to have to facilitate and create openings for other guys. Like the play where he got Kidd the 3 on the right top, that's a monster play. And that happens because he draws attention and he sees the floor. It's that and it's the defensive end. So, you know, look, he was sensational tonight, especially in the 4th." Carlisle on Game 6: "Again, I just would say to you that we're going to stay in the moment and we're going to just keep studying how we play our best. We're going to play whistle to whistle. I heard that term, been watching the hockey series. A lot of the people in the hockey world use that term. And that's what we're going to do. We're going to try to win each possession and just take it one at a time. An NBA Finals is a 16 day deal, or whatever it is. And it's very long, but somehow or other it goes by fast. By staying in the moment and just really focusing on what's important for us, that helps us." Carlisle on someone other than Nowitzki scoring at the end: "We've got a lot of guys that have been terrific finishers for us. A lot of times our game becomes very balanced. We had 5 guys in double figures tonight. We had a guy with 8 and 2 guys with 4 and a guy with 3. So that's pretty good for us. Some nights it's just we need 7 guys with 4 points or more. You're never quite sure how the total is going to get to where it gets. That's kind of defined us as a team. There's no set formula, other than we need each other. And we need to play a certain way, and we need to play with a certain collective intelligence and will. And the defense has got to be tight. So we were able to do a lot of those things tonight, and I think that's why we won." Dirk Nowitzki: "Yeah, I mean that was a big win for us, obviously. We didn't want to go to Miami and give them basically 2 shots to close us out. So kept plugging there in the 4th. So definitely a big win for us. And now we have to go down there and basically approach Sunday's game as Game 7. You don't want to give this great team any hope or anything. So we got to play more of the same and keep attacking and we'll see what happens Sunday." Nowitzki: "Well, I don't actually think that was a good defensive night for us. All series long we're trying to figure out our offense. Tonight we're moving and shooting the ball well, but I thought all of a sudden we started giving up too many points. That's not how we won, and that's not how we want to win. We started trading baskets, even in the 1st half, when we were going well offensively. We traded baskets, gave up too many layups. So that was a little disappointing. But at least we shot the ball well enough to get the win. I thought J.J. Barea was phenomenal behind screens, making shots, and JET obviously in the 4th quarter made the big 3 top of the key to tie it. And basically made a tough one on the right wing to put the game away. Really, we kind of been waiting on an offensive night for us that we finally shoot the ball well. We felt like we had opportunities in the first 4 games, just couldn't knock anything down. So that was encouraging to see today that we made some shots." Nowitzki on Terry: "JET was phenomenal. He was aggressive again from the get go, I felt. Even the 1st half he came in, had a couple of pull-ups, got in the lane, got a floater, I remember. That's the JET we need. We need him to attack and get in the lane. It opens up a lot of stuff for everybody else out there. It opens up Tyson on the rolls - that we actually hit him a bunch of times today. Our 5s [centers] rolling, that was good. Also that opens up the corner 3s and made a couple. We need JET, JET attacking. He was great. So did J.J. in the starting lineup attacking, got to the lane a couple of times, made some layups. I thought that opened up his 3-ball." Nowitzki on Terry with James defending him: "Well, I think if he just stands there and looks at him, I think LeBron is long enough and quick enough to kind of contest his shot late. So he's got to attack him. He's got to attack his feet. I thought the last 2 games he did a great job. We got to run. Obviously LeBron threw some screens when he's on him, screen-and-rolls for him. So LeBron constantly has to chase him and fight over some picks. I thought we did a better job of that tonight." Nowitzki on Terry's talking: "We all know JET is a confident young man. He always has a lot to say to us in the locker room. He's always talking. He's just an energetic guy. He loves to talk and he loves to hear himself talk." Nowitzki on the high scoring: "I thought we got in the fastbreak a little bit early. That was good. Had some good looks in the fastbreak. We were able to knock some shots down. But like I said, I thought in the 1st 4 games we looked at the film, we stepped into some good shots. We just for some reason we weren't knocking them down like we did in the 1st 3 series. I mean, if we would have struggled shooting the ball like that in the 1st 3 series, I don't know if we would have gotten here. Our ability to make shots in the weakside is a big part of what we do. Tonight we talked about it. Keep stepping into those shots when they're there. The J.J. screen-and-roll where he stepped in and shot the ball great all season long. We kept telling him be aggressive and shoot those, and he was phenomenal, and so was JET. JKidd had a big 3 there when we were up 2. We swung it, swung it to go up 5. That was a big shot. I thought we hit big, timely shots tonight." Nowitzki: "Yes, I think like I said, it's not a best of 5 series; it's a best of 7. So the first team to 4 wins. So we couldn't celebrate tonight, even though it was a big win for us. The series is not over. If you look at it really now, all that's happened, you can look they won their 2 home games, we won all 3 home games. That's how you look at it. They got 2 more. So far it looks like everybody protected their homecourt and they still have 2 games at home. So there's really nothing to celebrate. We're going in there Sunday swinging, like we did today, from the jump. And hopefully steal one Sunday." Nowitzki on Miami going up by 4 during the 4th: "Just stick with it. Just stick with it. First of all, this was the last home game in this building in front of our fans, who have been phenomenal all year and pushed us forward. We obviously didn't want to end this season here for them on a loss. I think we addressed that. We wanted to keep plugging, keep going. It was big, I think, when we were down 4, the next offense I was able to get in the lane, get a pump-fake, get to the free throw line, kind of settle everybody down, make it a 2 point game. And I thought that was big for us not to shoot a bad jumper and they go down in transition again. So it was good to kind of stop the clock, get 2 free throws and kind of set our defense. I thought that was a big momentum play." Jason Terry on the comeback: "We are a very resilient team, you know that. We've been in tough battles all playoffs long. It's not going to stop. It's going to get even harder. But we're ready. We're determined and this is our time." Terry: "I felt great. I was in rhythm tonight. I came out aggressive - something that we have to continue to do. We're not happy with our defensive performance, but offensively - if we score 100, I told you what would happen." Terry: "We came out very aggressively offensively. Didn't like what we were doing defensively. Giving up 57 points in the 1st half, way too many points for that group. But, hey, we're very resilient. We played with the lead for once, for most of the part of the night. But 4th quarter, again, great basketball down the stretch, getting stops and then getting what we wanted on the offensive end." Terry on Nowitzki not wanting Terry to talk as much sometimes: "Sometimes he puts a muzzle on me. He don't like me to talk to you guys too much because I give away the game plan. It's something I grew up with, watching my idols like Gary Payton and guys like that. Being from the inner city, it's just a part of my game." Terry on his 4th quarter play: "It's my job. All season long, ever since I've been a Maverick, I've been the guy in the 4th quarter they depended on to either make plays or make shots. So I really relish in that role. Regardless of what's going on throughout 3 quarters of the game, in the 4th quarter I know I'm depended on to come through. Thank God I was able to do that again tonight." Terry on being able to drive on James: "Again, just being a student of the game, watching these series play out, Games 1 and 2 you feel it out, you get things on film that you can see where you can be successful. The dribble penetration, yes, is a part of my game. Obviously I know what I'm best at, catch and shoot. But I can put the ball on the floor. I think that's just something maybe they weren't as prepared for. It's something I see where I can have some success and is a part of being aggressive." Terry on the 3-point shooting: "We are getting the same looks we knew we would get. After Games 1 and 2, you watch it on film, you see it, and then you realize where you're going to have the opportunities. I said to myself, I said to my teammates, we're not going to continue to miss those open shots that we're getting. And so, again, being confident, preparing, getting extra shots in, in those spots is what allow you to go out in the game. And when you get those opportunities, knock them down." Terry on Wade's injury: "When he came back in the game, he came back aggressive. So I don't know if he was hurt or what. To us it doesn't matter. He was on the floor. He got opportunities. He drove to the basket. So he's a tough cover. If he's out there, he's a threat." Terry on his drive and kick to Kidd for a 3: "I had some opportunities in the 3rd quarter where I wasn't as decisive. So I knew once coach put me back in the game, I had to get something done immediately. I was really looking to get to the basket and draw a foul. They do a great job of help defense. My outlet was Jason Kidd. He shoots it well from the spot he was in. The right decision. The right play to make." Terry on it being the last home game: "The fans have been great. They're the best in the business. We really take pride in our homecourt advantage. We use it as an edge. And from the tip they were into it. It's something that we love. We cherish it. And now we have to go on the road and take care of business. We want to win this thing for them as much as we do for ourselves." Terry on the next game: "Game 6. It's the first one to win 4. We have our opportunity in Game 6. We must go out, play aggressively and take advantage of our opportunity." Terry on his 3-pointer that gave Dallas a 7 point lead: "Preparation for me. It's something I do at the end of my workouts. Get into a good rhythm. Rhythm dribble. If there's space, I'm going to let it fly. The clock was winding down. It's just like being out there on the playground back home in Seattle. Emulating your idols in the Finals situation, game on the line. Raise up, knock it down." Terry: "Tonight was great. We came out offensively and found our rhythm. Defensively we took a step backwards. We didn't have the same focus on certain areas in the game for 48 minutes. And so I said if we can get to 100, we like our chances. We did that, but we definitely don't want to give them 100 points. Because then it leaves the window of opportunity for them to get a win." Terry: "It's all about our leader, Jason Kidd. The way he plays the game, the way he has always played the game rubs off. The extra pass for us is what we have to do to be successful. We have 2 or 3 guys maybe that can break you down and penetrate and get in the lane. But for the most part, we do it with spacing, we do it with the extra pass." Jason Kidd on Game 6: "Well, I think we have to play better defense. They shot over 50% and we got to limit them to one tough shot. LeBron has a triple-double, DWade - he's having a great series. So big thing for us is to make them take tough shots and rebound the ball and get out and run." Kidd: "Well, I think we're happy with our performance, but there's always room to get better. So defensively, you know, in that 4th quarter we gave up too many layups to them, and they took the lead. But the big thing is we know it's hard to win on the road. And we have to find a way to win on the road come Sunday and see what happens." Kidd: "It always seems somewhere at the end of the quarter or half or one of the quarters they make a halfcourt 3. So to get that out of the way in the 1st [quarter] was maybe a good sign. Because we turned the ball over and they come down - we thought we played a pretty good 1st quarter where we had the lead. But we turn the ball over, and they make a 3 and they take the lead. Hopefully we can start making 3s at some point - and we did that tonight. Again, we have to take care of the ball." Kidd on Miami going up in the 4th quarter: "Well, I think just understanding the game a little bit, I'm still learning. But the big thing is just to not panic. The game is about runs and rhythm. And they made a run on us where they were getting layups. We had to find a way to stop. On the other end, you have to continue to keep playing when they do score. You have to find a way to score on the other end. We did and guys stepped up and made some big plays down the stretch." Kidd on what was said during a timeout after Miami went up: "Just to stay together and keep fighting. The big thing is defensively we got to get a stop. Make or miss on the offensive end, we got to find a way to break their rhythm, because they were running the pick-and-rolls and they were slipping out getting layup after layup. Normally when you do that to a team, you tend to drop your head and compound it by not scoring on the other end. Guys just kept playing, finding a way." Kidd on Wade's injury: "I don't know how my teammates felt, I knew he was going to come back. This is the Finals. We all knew he was going to come back at some point. But the big thing is LeBron putting pressure on us on the defensive end, where he was penetrating and guys were helping, and he was finding the open guy. Miller made 2 3s to start that half. So we didn't get off to a good start defensively. But as the game went on, we knew at some point DWade would be back and he was going to have an impact on the game." Kidd: "JET made a heck of a play, driving the ball and throws it out, and [Kidd] being able to knock down that 3. Just the trust that he trusted in me I was going to make that shot." Kidd on turnovers: "I kept it under 4, so that's a good sign. For some reason I've been throwing it to the Heat. I think we understand how important the ball is against this team, because if you turn it over, by the time you take one step back on defense, they're already dunking it. So we're trying to work. Sometimes it doesn't look like it, but we're not trying to turn the ball over on purpose. You have to give the Heat a lot of credit. They are great on the defensive end." Kidd on his scoring: "I think the layup definitely helped. I haven't had a layup in a while. Getting the ball to the basket and getting that layup gave me a little confidence. My job isn't to score. My job is to get my teammates in a position to be successful. But my teammates get on me sometimes about shooting the ball and looking to score a little bit to help them. So tonight was one of those games where I had some good looks, and they went in." Kidd on Terry: "JET is a very emotional player. He loves the 4th quarter. In his career he's been incredible in the 4th. I think the challenge is for him with LeBron [defending him], he's got to use his quickness. So LeBron is one of the best defenders in this league. And he made some incredible shots tonight, especially one out there by the American Airlines logo. That was a big shot. When he gets going, he's tough. No matter who is guarding him." Kidd on Barea: "I think he was aggressive. In Game 4, he was aggressive in Game 4 where he missed some shots that we all know he makes. And he hasn't backed down. What is he listed at 5-10? We'll go with that. He enjoys that challenge of being a small guy and maybe being over-looked. And, again, he made some big shots, too. But just being aggressive and, again, he only had 1 turnover. We trust him, J.J., when he has the ball he's going to find the right guy or make the right play. He's done that 2 games in a row." Kidd on he taking James and Marion taking Wade late in the game: "Trix and I talked walking out [of a timeout]. I said, 'Do you want to switch?' He said, 'Why not?' That's just communicating between feeling - we have to try to give them different looks. They're so talented. When you talk about Wade and LeBron, I mean, you give them the same look, they're going to take advantage of that. So that was just a time where we said we wanted to give them a different look down the stretch." Tyson Chandler on his charge taken against James late in the game: "I felt like it was a charge. I've seen that baseline move before and for a couple of games now, I've been thinking that if I can just get there and get set and make him think I'm going to jump, that I could get a charge. It just happened to be at a key time." Chandler on the win: "It's huge. We put ourselves in the situation we wanted, to go back there with an opportunity to close it out. We can't get too ahead of ourselves. We have to keep our focus until the job is done." Chandler on the 4th quarters: "Yeah, it's been that way throughout the entire series. We've had to gut it out. I was hoping tonight would be a little different. We got off to a good start. Did a good job scoring. Unfortunately, they made another big run." Chandler: "It seems like every series up to this point, we've had those huge games where we're able to get a lead and keep the momentum. That's a resilient team on the other side that we're against. They do a great job of coming back and applying pressure. When you think you got them out, they come back. You have to give them a lot of credit for that." Chandler: "Yeah, our shooters really knocked down shots. I kept thinking, it's going to come, it's going to come. Tonight they definitely found their rhythm." Chandler: "It looked like a Mavericks game. It was a complete team effort. The starters got it rolling. Our bench played well. Everyone who played in the game tonight gave us some production, whether it be Cardinal coming in and taking charges and doing a good job for us. Mahinmi giving us solid minutes. It was a total team effort tonight." J.J. Barea: "We're always going to be aggressive. It's a matter of making shots. Tonight I think we moved the ball, we attacked the paint, we made shots - I think we were due for some. But I still think we didn't play good defense tonight. We can play better defense and we'll have to play better defense in Miami to win a game." Barea on his shooting: "It helped to make the first one, for sure. I wanted to shoot it. I know that's important and I finally felt good about it. I want to come out every night and be aggressive. I have a team that believes in me and that helps." Barea: "I think we stayed aggressive. I think we spread out the floor a little better today. I think we picked up the pace a little bit. And shots were just going in tonight. I think we were due to make some shots, and it just worked out tonight." DeShawn Stevenson: "We played hard and we believed in ourselves. When that happens, we're usually pretty good." Erik Spoelstra: "By definition, this certainly is a series of mental and physical endurance, and that's why it's a 7 game series. Each game is a possession game going down to the stretch. We were able to steal one here, and they did what they needed to do. They took care of the last 2 games going down the stretch. So we're going back to Miami and we have to do the same thing." Spoelstra on Wade's injury: "I was staying in the moment. [Trainer] Jay just said, 'He can't start this half. I'll let you know in a few minutes whether he can go or not.' My plan was for him not to go. I didn't even see him on the bench when he came back. We went on from there. We still had an opportunity to close this out. We weren't able to do it, and so now when we go back to Miami. We wouldn't have it any other way. We worked extremely hard to get that homecourt. Nothing that we've achieved this year has been easy. So we're certainly not going to start now." Spoelstra: "They made their shots. This is a shot-making team. We were aware of that before we came into the series. They can really extend your defense and you have to be active and athletic, all of these things. I think what led to that were a lot of the relief points they got in the 1st half. And we talk about this all season long. We try to take away the relief. Easy opportunities in the open court, easy opportunities right at the rim. They were getting all of that in the 1st half. And the psychological part of that is naturally the basket starts to look bigger. Then they got some good looks, they made those, and even some of them I think they had 3 or 4 at the end of the clock that were defended pretty well, and they knocked those down too. But if you're getting good shots during the course of the game, you can make tough shots down the stretch." Spoelstra on getting James going: "We'll see. There's obviously going to be some priorities in terms of closing out games, which we've been very good at the last 2 1/2 months, and particularly during our playoff run. We haven't been able to do it consistently enough in this series. And that's something we'll address. That's been a fabric all season long, being able to work and improve on things. LeBron was much more aggressive tonight. Obviously, he had a triple-double. And he had an impact on the game." Spoelstra on turnovers: "Yes, again that leads to the relief. And some of those turnovers led to 1-on-0 or a number of breaks that were easy opportunities for them in the 1st half. And we were a little bit sloppy against their pressure. That's normally what we're used to doing to other teams. So we definitely have to take care of the ball better." Spoelstra on defending Dallas: "Of course, you have the shooting. They stretch the floor at the majority of the positions. And Nowitzki requires at least attention of 1 1/2 and often times 2 guys and create some kind of trigger. Barea was able to get in the paint, make some plays, break us down, and Terry was able to do that as well. Our defense has been proven. Our defense has been successful against all kinds of different offenses. It is not easy against this team, but we are capable, very capable when we're on top of it. We were not good enough in the 1st half. They got too many rhythm opportunities, particularly in the paint." Spoelstra: "The opportunities they had in the paint, and the relief opportunities. We always talk about that with our team. We're a rhythm team. When we get out in the open court, when we get our attacks, when we get to the free throw line, our rhythm players can knock down 3s as well. Especially when it comes in the context of what we're doing. Chandler got rolls to the rim. Their bigs were getting to the rim. They were getting transition relief and gained a lot of confidence. So when we really started to pick up our defense in the 2nd half and were much more active and athletic and disruptive, they had a great rhythm already going there. And so that's what you'll see in this league. You'll see some of those tough, end-of-the-clock shots go when you're gaining confidence during the course of the game. We're much better than this. We've been better than this for the series, and that's what it will require as we move on to Miami." Spoelstra: "Against very good competition, you've got to be better. And even while we had a lot of success during the playoffs up to this point, we have to close. And you can't simply do it on one side of the floor. It's not only executing and scoring offensively. Sometimes it's make or miss. And a couple of those possessions were an example of that tonight. But what we have felt that we built the habits to do is to be able to close teams out defensively as well. And we weren't able to do that tonight." Spoelstra on being 1 game from elimination: "We look at it the other way. We're going home and we wouldn't have it any other way than the hard way. This is an opportunity for us. That's why you play a 7 game series. You got to play it out. And this is where we feel comfortable." Spoelstra: "We went to different actions that were working for us and got there late in the 4th quarter. They started to adjust their defense a little bit. We wanted to get the ball moving. Scoring, I don't think, was a major issue for us until the last few minutes of the game." Spoelstra on Terry: "He's a tough cover. Again, a lot of actions involve Nowitzki. He's a big key to the team. He's been that way all season long, and that's why we've treated him with due respect. He was able to get into a great rhythm tonight. He was aggressive. We'll see what happens in Game 6." Dwyane Wade on his injury: "You know, I'm not going to do that. I don't talk about injuries. It was unfortunate I had to leave the game. But I came back and I finished it." Wade on playing with his injury: "No, once you're on the court, you're on the court. I don't have no excuses. I was on the court. I was able to help my team get an opportunity to win. And I'll be fine Sunday." Wade on closing out games: "It's unfortunate. Obviously we put ourselves in a position on the road especially to win games. We haven't been able to do that. That's been our staple. That's the reason we're here. The good thing about life and the good thing about this game, we get another opportunity, another crack at it. We know it's the thing that's going to either lose or win us a championship. It comes down to either not closing out games or closing it out. We have another game Sunday to be able to do that." Wade on being ready for Game 6: "Yeah, no problem at all. I'll be good for Game 6. Like I said, I feel our team did a great job while I was out. We have a team that's deep enough that can make things happen. Mike Miller did a great job and enabled me to get more treatment in the back, so I could come back and finish out the game." Wade on returning to the game despite the injury: "No, everybody know me - at that point just trying to come out. The doctor not ruling me out, I can come out and help my team with my presence on the floor. I'm smart enough to play the game without obviously being 100%. That's all I did when I came back. I want to help us get back in this ballgame and I was able to be effective in a sense." Wade: "Well, I mean, obviously they're a tough team to guard. Like we said, they're the best offensive team in this game. But I guess they have momentum in the sense they came home and won 2 games. But each game is its own. Every game has been pretty much a possession here, a possession there. Either team can come in and say they can be up different than what they are. We'll be coming to the game understanding it's a possession game in Game 6. Doing whatever it takes to win the ballgame. So we're confident." LeBron James on if he is struggling because of pressure: "No, I don't think so. I don't believe so. I know I'm not. We as a team, we played good enough to win again. Put ourself in position to win down the stretch. Everyone, guys made plays. They just made a few more than we did. That's what it came down to." James on if Miami needs more offense from him: "I don't think it was a case of offense again tonight. There was enough offensive play. We shot 52%, they shot 56%. We scored 103 points, they scored 112. The offense wasn't a problem." James on Terry: "He made big shots. He made some great 3-point shots tonight. A hand contested in his face. Some of them was open. He's just aggressive. We always said when he plays well, they're very tough to beat. That's what he's done the last 2 games." James on closing games out: "Well, it starts defensively. We've had a few breakdowns late in games in this series that we didn't have in the first 3 series. So it's something we know we can do. We just got to push through it. At this point we have no choice, honestly. We got 2 games left, and we worked hard all year to get homecourt advantage. So we have to take advantage of it." James on playing without Wade to start the 3rd quarter: "Just try to work our same offense. I was able to get into the lane a couple of times, hit out for 3s, hit out for guys that got some layups, and also I was able to get to the rim a couple of times, put a little pressure on the defense. But it's nothing that you really can change. It's our habits we've been working through all season. With him being out, we just try to do the same thing as if he was in, but knowing that one of our scorers is down. But guys had to come in and try to make plays and pick up the slack while he was out." James on his triple-double: "The only thing that applies to me is a win. A win or a loss. I could have made a couple more plays for my team. But at the end of the day, all it's about is a win or a loss. Triple-double means absolutely nothing in a loss. So we will be better in Game 6 on Sunday." James on defending Terry: "Like I said, it's never a 1-on-1 matchup. I said that when he was struggling in the first couple of games, the games that we won. I said it's never a 1-on-1 matchup. JT is the reason why, like I said, in the top vote getters of 6th Man of the Year every year. He does a great job of staying active, staying in rhythm and they get him the ball in the 4th quarter. So I take pride in it. Like I said, I'm not going to always stop him or hold him under his average. I would hope so. He gets enough looks, he gets enough cracks at it, he's going to make a few in. We have to make sure we stay locked in and not allow him to get open ones like he had tonight." James: "Honestly, we just worked our game. I was able to get the ball in the post a few times in the 1st half. It worked. Some of them didn't work. 2nd half with DWade being out to start the 2nd half, I took it upon to be a little more of a ball handler, get guys into our offense. But we just try to take what the defense gives us. We have nothing to say about our offense tonight. We shot 53% from the floor. These guys shot 57. Shot almost 70% from the 3-point line. Offensively had nothing to do with why we lost this game. We just couldn't get enough stops down the stretch." Chris Bosh on Wade being out during the game: "Any time you have a situation like that with one of your guys out, you have to play your system, play like you're used to. I think Mike [Miller] did a fantastic job of just coming out, being aggressive, making plays, staying solid on defense. There wasn't a huge discrepancy. It was back and forth pretty much for the whole time. He did a good job." Bosh: "We didn't get off to a good start defensively. We gave up too many points in the paint, too many layups, uncontested shots, you name it. That isn't our niche, that isn't what we do. And we're going to have to do a better job of initially starting the defense. We saw what they're capable of. Some of the shots they hit were just some hit shots. That's going to happen sometimes. We cannot give them layups." Bosh: "I mean, every loss hurts. You know what I'm saying? We fought hard all season for homecourt advantage. We're down 3-2. This is what we fought for homecourt advantage for during the regular season. We protect homecourt, we win the series. So we have to keep that in mind. We're back at home now. We just have to make sure we take it one game at a time and take care of business and get off to a good start and really put their backs against the wall early." Bosh on being down 2-3: "I think just being comfortable being back at home. We've been out here for a week or so. It's always good to just get refreshed and, you know, just be somewhere where you're a little more comfortable. This is unchartered territory for us, but all year has been unchartered ever since we came together. So we're going to have to use all of those experiences that we've went through in this past year collectively to overcome this." Bosh: "I think if you look at it, this team has more offensive firepower than any other team that we've played. I mean, for the most part we've been doing a good job defensively, especially in the 4th quarter. We had a lapse today. And you know, it won't happen again. It can't happen again. I think we're to that point where they can't be comfortable. They can't get wide open shots. They can't get layups. They can't have guys more than Dirk having a good game. So we're to that point. We're just going to have to execute when it's time." Bosh on if James was aggressive enough: "I mean, yeah. He shot 19 shots. Some of them were good looks. He had feet planted. Shot some shots he normally makes. This is a tough place to play. We expect to bounce back. We're at home. Those shots are going to fall and we're going to play much better. We're going to try and take this thing to 7 games." Mario Chalmers: "We've got to do a better job keeping these guys off the foul line. We've got a lot of free throws down. We've just got to get into a rhythm at the end." Chalmers on if the momentum has changed: "No, not at all. We're going back home, so I think we've got all the momentum. 2 games left and we're desperate." Chalmers on Barea: "I think he's just knocking out shots, penetrating through our defense, and we've got to do a better job of dealing with that." Chalmers: "Definitely, we've been like that all year. Any time we lose games, we bounce back, and we're ready to bounce back." Chalmers on Dallas' free throws: "Yeah, definitely, I think they were a little bit more aggressive than we were. You know, they were getting the calls." Udonis Haslem: "You go back and look at the film and see exactly what the breakdown was. I don't know how guys were getting open. It's just 1 game, a couple of plays. We're definitely capable of beating these guys and we'll figure it out." Haslem: "We've got homecourt advantage for a reason and we're tough at home and we'll go back home, rely on our homecourt, rely on our home crowd, and come out and play with a complete sense of urgency." Haslem: "You don't want to give this team anything. They can score the ball, unfortunately. J.J. Barea was knocking down shots, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry made many shots tonight. You've got to give them credit. Next game, we'll do a better job of taking away those open shots." 2011 Playoffs - NBA Finals: Game 5 Dallas Mavericks 112, Miami Heat 103 at Dallas (June 9) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Dallas 30 30 24 28 - 112 .520 .684 .565 .778 Miami 31 26 22 24 - 103 .580 .400 .529 .808 Halftime: Dallas 60-56 3rd Q: Dallas 84-78 Technicals: Shawn Marion 2:17 2nd Refs: Joey Crawford, Mike Callahan, Bill Kennedy Attendance: 20,433 (sellout) IL: Dallas - Caron Butler, Dominique Jones, Brendan Haywood Miami - Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jamaal Magloire, Dexter Pittman Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Shawn Marion 34 4-11 0-0 0-0 8 1-4 3 2 3 2 0 Dirk Nowitzki 40 9-18 1-1 10-10 29 0-6 3 2 2 1 0 Tyson Chandler 39 5-7 0-0 3-5 13 2-7 0 0 4 1 2 J.J. Barea 26 6-11 4-5 1-1 17 1-2 5 1 1 0 0 Jason Kidd 40 4-6 3-5 2-2 13 0-2 6 3 1 3 1 Jason Terry 30 8-12 3-5 2-2 21 0-4 6 2 1 0 0 Brian Cardinal 10 1-1 1-1 1-2 4 0-0 0 1 3 1 0 DeShawn Stevenson 14 1-2 1-2 1-2 4 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 Ian Mahinmi 8 1-1 0-0 1-3 3 0-1 0 0 3 0 0 Totals 48 39-69 13-19 21-27 112 4-26 23 11 20 8 3 Miami Heat REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK LeBron James 46 8-19 0-4 1-2 17 1-10 10 4 3 0 1 Chris Bosh 39 6-12 0-1 7-9 19 6-10 1 4 3 0 1 Joel Anthony 16 1-1 0-0 0-0 2 0-0 0 0 3 0 0 Dwyane Wade 34 6-12 1-2 10-12 23 0-2 8 4 2 2 1 Mike Bibby 15 1-2 0-1 0-0 2 0-2 0 1 1 0 0 Udonis Haslem 33 5-8 0-0 0-0 10 1-5 2 0 2 0 1 Mike Miller 23 3-5 3-4 0-0 9 0-2 2 1 4 1 0 Juwan Howard 6 3-3 0-0 0-0 6 0-0 0 0 3 0 0 Mario Chalmers 23 4-6 4-6 3-3 15 1-4 2 1 4 1 0 Eddie House 3 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0-1 0 1 1 1 0 Totals 48 37-70 8-20 21-26 103 9-36 25 18 26 5 4 Go Mavs! patricia ---- Patricia Bender pbender@eskimo.com For Trianglons puzzles: http://www.trianglons.com For NBA stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/index.html For Mavs stuff: http://www.eskimo.com/~pbender/mavs.html