End of game, Dallas wins 112-103: The talk after this one will be that LeBron James shrank yet again in the big moment. And he did. Not a single fourth-quarter point until 0:29 left — when the game was already out of reach.
But the real story is Dallas' incredible depth. For the second game in a row, they had five guys in double-digits (Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, J.J. Barea, Tyson Chandler and Jason Kidd) and shot a sterling 57 percent from the field.
It helped, of course, that Dwyane Wade played just 34 minutes after injuring his left hip in the first quarter. Still, Miami has only itself to blame after missing three free throws in the fourth quarter and bricking the big-moment shots in the closing minutes.
They can also blame themselves for allowing Dallas to go a ri-Dirk-ulous 13-of-19 from 3-point land. Something's gotta change back in South Beach, or LeBron's gonna be dealing with the questions for at least anoter 365 days.
Fourth quarter, 0:33, Dallas 108-101: Awful offense leads to …. a Jason Terry 3-pointer. Haslem played fantastic denial on Dirk, leading to an expiring shot clock. Terry hit his second triple of the quarter, third of the game.
Fourth quarter, 0:56, Dallas 105-101: Wade's trying to take over but finding it difficult with a bum hip. He turned it over once, then got blocked on the next possession. Here's the killer for Dallas — they had a layup attempt to make the lead seven, but Marion missed it with LeBron in his face.
Fourth quarter, 1:26, Dallas 105-100: 3's, 3's, 3's. Two of 'em in the last two minutes give Dallas the five-point edge.
LeBron, meanwhile, is choking again. Two misses in the last 2 minutes and an offensive foul. He's yet to score in the fourth quarter.
Fourth quarter, 2:40, Dallas 102-100: It'd be great if folks could question Terry's clutchness every couple of games. He knocked down a triple, followed by a driving layup from Dirk.
Fourth quarter, 5:00, Miami 99-95: An ice-cold triple from the injured Wade. He continues to leave little doubt that he's this team's leader. Also, I feel like Udonis Haslem is fouling Dirk on every possession.
Fourth quarter, 5:16, Miami 96-95: Dallas' defense has betrayed them. Three straight layups lead to a 6-0 run for the Heat. They've gotta get back in transition.
LeBron, by the way, now has the truple-double — 15 points, 10 boards, 10 assists.
Fourth quarter, 6:30, Dallas 95-92: LeBron dishes for an easy Haslem layup, pushing him within one assist of a triple-double.
Fourth quarter, 6:48, Dallas 95-90: Unlike in Game 4, Dirk is getting the benefit of the calls in this one. And he's taking advantage, going 8-for-8 from the line to this point.
LeBron has now taken a shot in the fourth. It was a 3. He missed it.
Fourth quarter, 8:08, Dallas 93-88: Barea with a triple again (17 points), this time when the Heat were threatening to tie the game. It was maybe a milimeter above Chalmers' middle finger.
Fourth quarter, 9:35, Dallas 90-86: Wow, D-Wade, hobbled by an injured left hip, is still somehow trying to will his team to a win. Three points and a big block on Dirk in the first 2:30 of the final quarter. LeBron? He hasn't taken a shot since 3:26 left in the third but does have two boards over that span.
Fourth quarter, 10:47, Dallas 88-81: LeBron is covering Dirk. Could be interesting.
Fourth quarter, 11:42, Dallas 85-79: How is that not a flagrant foul on Juwan Howard. Just me, or has he become more of a punk in his 85th year in the league?
End of third quarter, Dallas 84-79: LeBron got going (a bit) in that third period, scoring six points with Wade mostly on the bench, but so did the entire Mavericks team. Four triples for Dallas and inspired play from J.J. Barea (8 points in the quarter) and Terry charged the home club to at one point a nine-point advantage.
But for a second quarter of this game, the Mavs gave ground at period's end, allowing an injured D-Wade and a far-too-confident Mario Chalmers (15 points) to close the gap. It sets up what promises to be another classic fourth quarter.
Third quarter, 2:33, Dallas 80-73: Scary development for the Mavs — LeBron is starting to feel the jump shot. He's got three of 'em this period.
Third quarter, 3:46, Dallas 80-71: As in Game 4, all the X-factors for Dallas are coming through — Kidd (8 points), Barea (11), Marion (8), Chandler (11) and Terry (9) have all been superb — defensively and offensively. That should allow Dirk (21) to get open looks in the fourth.
The Mavs, by the way, are now 9-of-13 from 3-point range, including four in this third period.
The Heat? Not too shabby, either — 7-of-15.
Third quarter, 5:00, Dallas 75-71: Wade's re-emerging from the Miami locker room. The Mavs probably could've used a bigger lead with that emotional lift coming the Heat's way.
Third quarter, 5:45, Dallas 75-69: How about Barea's throwback to the Western Conference Finals? He's scored eight in the third period alone. Placing him in a starting role in Game 4 and tonight might've been Rick Carlisle's best decision of this Finals.
Third quarter, 6:07, Dallas 73-69: LeBron and Dirk (with J.J. Barea squeezed in between) are trading buckets with Wade still unheard from in the Miami locker room. James, btw, is beginning to flirt with a triple-double (13 points, six boards, six dimes). Not a dominant performance, by any stretch, but certainly an improvement over Game 4's LeProcalypse.
Third quarter, 7:04, Dallas 70-65: You know Dirk's feeling it when he throws up a rainbow-triple at the shot-clock buzzer and gets it to go through while touching perhaps one thread of the net. He's quickly up to 21 points.
Third quarter, 10:15, Dallas 65-63: OK, Dallas, time to start defending the perimeter. The Heat have now hit seven 3's after two-straight from Mike Miller in the first 2 minutes of the second half.
Third quarter, 11:30, Tied 60-60: Wade's not on the floor to start the second half. Still in the locker room having that bad left hip checked out. No report yet from Miami as to whether he'll be back (again).
End of first half, Dallas 60-57: After a start reminiscent of his sub-par play in Game 4, Dirk got going late, scoring 10 in the second period to partner with Tyson Chandler's 11.
Mario Chalmers (four triples for 13 points) and Chris Bosh (13) lead the way for Miami, which lost Wade for portions of the first and second quarters with a left-hip contusion.
LeBron Watch — not bad. Nine points on 4-of-10 shooting, six rebounds and four assists. He still has zero confidence in his jump shot, but his defense has been aggressive.
Overall, both teams were lights-out offensively — 51 percent from the field for the Heat, 66 percent for the Mavs. It's in stark contrast to the defensive battles that defined the first four games of this series.
Second quarter, 1:48, Dallas 56-54: More ri-Dirk-ulous offense from Nowitzki helps the Mavs regain the lead. He's now got 14 after a slow start.
Second quarter, 2:17, Miami 54-52: Bad swing for Dallas. Refs don't call an obvious double-dribble on LeBron, call Shawn Marion for a foul shortly afterwards, then T him up for complaining about the no-call on the double-dribble. Classic Bill Kennedy. He and the two Crawfords (Danny and Joey) have gotta be the worst in the league. Feel free to add candidates below.
Second quarter, 3:18, Miami 52-50: Dirk is beginning to exert himself, now with 10 points on just seven shots. They've almost all come on Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony. Justice has been done.
Second quarter, 3:36, Miami 52-48: After 3 minutes of play, 0-for-2 from 3-point land and an offensive foul away from the ball — Eddie House has checked out of the game.
Second quarter, 4:34, Miami 50-46: Jason Terry has continued his tear from Game 4, putting up seven points and two assists in 12 minutes. Bosh leads all scorers with 13.
Second quarter, 6:17, Miami 48-44: Dallas has seven rebounds total in the first half. That at least partly explains the field-goal attempt disparity — 31-25 in favor of the Heat.
Second quarter, 6:41, Miami 47-44: Wade's first shot back into the game is a fallaway jumper kissed of the backboard. Hip looks good. Chalmers, meanwhile, has knocked down his third triple of the first half. Why on Earth is Dallas giving him open looks?
Second quarter, 8:25, Miami 42-39: Dallas' backup big man Ian Mahinmi is getting schooled by Bosh, who now has five points in the quarter. Rick Carlisle will summon Tyson Chandler back into the game soon.
Second quarter, 8:52, Miami 40-39: Wade has checked back into the game but is clearly hobbled by the left-hip contusion. You'd be insane to think that'd keep this guy outta Game 5 of the Finals.
Second quarter, 8:52, Miami 40-38: LeBron's beginning to make headway in the paint, scoring four quick points in the second period. This might be the most offensive game we've seen so far this series — Heat are shooting 58 percent, Mavs 64 percent.
Second quarter, 10:01, Miami 36-35: Heat list Wade as questionable to return with a left hip contusion.
End of first quarter, Miami 31-30: Are you kidding me? A Mario Chalmers buzzer-beating triple at the end of the first gives the Heat the lead after trailing by seven points for much of the period. In fact, Chalmers (6 points) and 85-year-old Juwan Howard (4 points) kept Miami close after Dwyane Wade went to the locker room with an apparent hip injury (no update on his status yet).
LeBron Watch — two points, three assists, four rebounds.
Dallas, meanwhile, deserted the fast break after it charged them to an early lead. They've gotta close out on Miami's 3-point shooters (Heat are 3-of-4 from that range).
First quarter, 1:05, Dallas 28-24: Wade's in the locker room, and LeBron's still deferring to his teammates. Sure, Mario Chalmers hit a 3, but this is hero-time for James, and he's disappearing.
First quarter, 2:58, Dallas 23-19: Wade is heading to the locker room with some sort of hip injury. Unclear how serious it is, but he fell on the court in pain at the timeout.
First quarter, 2:58, Dallas 23-19: A triple from Mike Miller, and a deuce by Mike Bibby quickly close a gap that has been seven points for much of the first. D-Wade's the game's leading scorer (again) at eight. Dirk's taking his traditional first-quarter rest.
First quarter, 3:48, Dallas 21-14: Every fan in South Beach just threw up their hands when Brian Cardinal hit a triple.
First quarter, 4:09, Dallas 18-12: For those expecting a LeBron eruption in Game 5 — not yet. He's 1-of-4 for four points, three boards, one assist and one block. Great on defense. Still deferential on offense.
First quarter, 5:00, Dallas 15-10: A big block by LeBron on a Shawn Marion layup attempt could get him and the Heat going. They play — maybe more than any other team I can remember — on emotion.
First quarter, 5:36, Dallas 13-8: Chris Bosh has been Miami's best player to this point, scoring four points with two boards. The Heat as a whole are 3-for-10 from the field to start.
First quarter, 7:12, Dallas 13-6: 9-2 run for the Mavs, as Dirk gets going with two straight jumpers. It's clear that Dallas (as it did at the beginning of Game 4) is emphasizing fast-break offense. Nine of their 13 points have come in transition, and Miami has already committed three turnovers.
LeBron Watch? He's got two points on 1-of-3 shooting with an assist and a turnover.
First quarter, 10:00, Tied 2-2: LeBron's first shot is an airball, and Dirk's shooting woes continue (0-for-2 to start). That pretty much sums up the first 2 minutes.
8:27 p.m.: Forty minutes before tip-off of Game 5 in Dallas. Most of the talk heading into this one has been LeBron James' unfortunate play in Game 4 — eight points, including none in the fourth quarter.
Some say James melted under the pressure of Jason Terry's trash-talking before Tuesday night's tilt. So how will he respond to DeShawn Stevenson's comment that the King "checked out" in the final period?
With more fodder for the critics who say he doesn't possess that "it" factor? Or with an explosion reminiscent of his bounce-back performance against the Chicago Bulls in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals?
LeBron today called it the "biggest game of my life." And he's probably right. Check back here at 9 p.m. for a full live-blog.
8:30 a.m.: Minus a few moments, Dirk Nowitzki had an awful Tuesday night. A sinus infection that spiked his temperature to 101. Pesky defense from a platoon of Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony. And a shooting funk (6-of-19 from the field) the likes of which he hadn't seen since the regular season.
Fortunately for him and the Mavs, those few shining moments came in the fourth quarter — in the biggest game of Dirk's 12-year career.
In that last and desperate period, the German — who's quickly shirking his reputation as a choke — dropped 10 of his 21 points, including the eventual game-winner with 14 ticks left. The Mavericks coolly sank their free throws the rest of the way, securing an 86-83 win and a 2-2 series tie.
That scoop layup from Dirk capped off another furious comeback for a team that seems almost more comfortable playing from behind. Take Games 2, 3 and 4 as examples (the Mavericks lost Game 3 but only after rallying from a 14-point deficit).
And right on cue, Dirk got some much-needed relief from his supporting cast. Jason Terry awoke from his slump to score 17 points with three steals, while center Tyson Chandler posted an impressive double-double of 16 boards and 13 points. As a unit, they played stifling defense, holding Miami to 43 percent shooting.
The Heat, on the other hand, got another lackluster performance from LeBron James. After being called out by Terry before Game 4, the King seemed to shrink from the pressure, scoring just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting. It was reminiscent of his Game 5 performance against Boston in the 2010 semifinals. Same deer-in-the-headlights look on his face. Same excessive deference to his teammates.
"I've got to do a better job of being more assertive offensively," James admitted after the game. "I'm confident in my ability. It's just about going out there and knocking them down."
Dwyane Wade, for his part, scored a game-high 32 points and was yet again a man among boys — until the final moments. The 2006 Finals MVP missed the tying free throw with 30 seconds left, then fumbled the inbounds pass on Miami's final attempt to force overtime.
Still, Game 4, just like Games 2 and 3, came down to the last shot. Question is, would you rather have Dirk or Wade/LeBron/Chris Bosh taking it?
Answer that, and you might have your Game 5 winner. Tip-off in Dallas is at 9 p.m. Check back here for full coverage.
