Coming off from his worst playoff performance ever in Game 4, Lebron James vowed to step-up in Game 5.

He did, delivering the first triple-double in Miami Heat’s playoff history with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. However, when it mattered, he failed again.

In the final five minutes, 59 seconds, James missed two of his three shots, had no assists, no rebounds and a turnover.

Dallas beat Miami 112-103 and the Mavericks are now up 3-2 heading into Sunday’s Game 6 back in Florida.

The Mavs shot 60 percent through three quarters, briefly gave up the lead in the fourth, then outscored Miami 17-4 in the final 4:23, controlling the final few minutes just as they had in thrilling comebacks in Games 2 and 4. Dallas shot 56.5 percent from the field, including 13 of 19 (68 percent) from 3-point range.

James said,

“I could have made a couple of 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.”

Dwyane Wade battled through a sore left hip after a first-quarter collision to finish with 23 points. Chris Bosh had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat.

Jason Terry scored 21 points and J.J. Barea had 17 for the Mavs. Jason Kidd and Tyson Chandler both finished with 13 points.

Check out the Game 5 recap video (mini-movie) below:

NOTES:

* James’ triple-double was was the 29th in Finals history.

* In the 26 previous finals that were tied 2-2, the Game 5 winner won 19 of them.

* This one has been developing into one of the closest finals the NBA has ever seen. Games 2-4 were decided by three points or fewer. That hadn’t happened in the championship round since 1948 when the Baltimore Bullets and Philadelphia Warriors played Games 2-4 within a three-point margin.

* The first four games were determined by 15 total points, the fewest since a 12-game difference between the Celtics and Lakers in the 1969 finals.

=======================================================

Don’t miss Game 6 by watching the Heat vs Mavericks LIVE streaming online on Sunday, June 12 at 9 PM at the American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida, USA.

Check out the full 2011 NBA Finals schedule and mark your calendars now!

Please read my related posts:

1. 2011 NBA Finals | Heat vs Mavericks Game 1, Lebron Scores 24 To Win First Ever Finals Game Lebron James is 3 games away from redemption. Leading the Miami Heat with 24 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, Lebron finally win his first ever NBA Finals game with a 92-84 victory over the Dallas Mavericks while showing critics...
2. 2011 NBA Finals | Heat vs Mavericks Game 6, Dallas Wins First NBA Title! Dirk Nowitzki is the best European player in NBA history having won the MVP award in 2007 … but he has not won a championship. Jason Kidd is one of the best point guards in NBA history with the second...
3. 2011 NBA Finals | Heat vs Mavericks Game 4, Nowitzki Makes A Jordanesque Performance This is how heroes are made. In true Jordanesque fashion, Dirk Nowitzki battled through a sinus infection that left him coughing and wheezing and his temperature spiking to 101 degrees to score 10 of his 21 points and grab five...
4. 2011 NBA Finals | Heat vs Mavericks Game 2, Nowitzki and Terry Led Furious Rally in Come From Behind Victory The Miami Heat might have celebrated too early. Up 15 by points 88-73 with 7:15 remaining in the game, you really can’t blame them.  They are on a 13-0 run and seems headed for a 2-0 lead over the Dallas...
5. 2011 NBA Finals | Heat vs Mavericks Game 3, Bosh Makes Go-Ahead Jumper in Win Thanks to Chris Bosh’ go-ahead jumper with 41 seconds remaining and Udonis Haslem’s tough defense on Dirk Nowitzki, Lebron James  might have escaped another round of criticism. Criticized heavily in their Game 2 loss in Miami for celebrating to early...
6. 2011 NBA Finals | Dallas Mavericks vs Miami Heat Schedule The NBA Finals is already set! The Dallas Mavericks will be facing the Miami Heat, a rematch of their 2006 encounter when Dallas won the first two games at home before suffering a monumental collapse and lost the next four...
7. 2011 NBA Finals | Miami Heat vs Dallas Mavericks The Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks last met in 2006 when the Mavericks won the first two games at home before losing the next four and eventually, giving up the championship title to the Heat for its first ever....
8. 2011 NBA Playoffs | The Miami Heat Advance to the NBA Finals! Much like what happened with the OKC Thunder in the Western Conference Finals series, the Chicago Bulls were just too young and too inexperienced to understand how to close out a game. Down 12 points with about 3 minutes to...
9. 2011 NBA Finals | Dallas Mavericks vs Miami Heat Promo Videos On May 31, the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks will begin the American Airlines Series – The Rematch. So-called because both teams play on arenas built by airline carrier American Airlines, this Finals marks a rematch of the 2006...
10. 2012 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals | Miami Heat vs Boston Celtics Game 7 For the second consecutive year, the Miami Heat reach the Eastern Conference Finals to face off with the Boston Celtics who made the round since 2010 when they made it all the way to the NBA Finals. Lebron James and...

If you want to receive my latest posts, please subscribe to my full feed RSS or have them delivered through email. Just enter your email address below and hit the Subscribe button.

Tags: 2011 NBA finals, 2011 NBA playoffs, dallas mavericks, lebron james, miami heat