Because of the 2-3-2 format, Dallas’ three home games felt connected, in that the imperative to take two out of three overshadowed what happened in any one game. Not to discount how entertaining Dirk’s Fever Game, Dwyane Wade’s heroics, the reemergence of Jason Terry, Tyson Chandler’s ferocious interior play, LeBron’s 0-fer in the fourth quarter actually were, but with significance of Game Five in the distance, Game Four felt incomplete when it ended—a cliffhanger, even more so than individual games in seven-game series do, partially because Dallas won. It’s important not to discount Game Four’s significance—if Miami won, they would have had a stranglehold on the series, up 3-1. Tied at 2-2, Game Five took on even more significance. Dirk wasn’t exaggerating when he said Game Five was a Game Seven for the Mavericks. If they wanted to have a realistic chance at the title, they needed to go back to Miami up 3-2.
If Game Four was an archetypal gutsy win, then Game Five was a barnburner of the first order. Dallas shot 56.5 percent from the field (and a ridiculous 13-19 from downtown) while Miami shot “just” 52.9 percent. Just after Dirk showed himself as fully healthy (and on fire), Dwyane Wade took a knock to his hip on a collision with Brian Cardinal, stumbled to the sideline, and then limped back to the locker room. The Heat remained active, led by LeBron, who throughout the game did a good job filling the void left by Wade.
The Heat struggled to contain J.J. Barea and Jason Terry, both of whom were playing like Nick Van Exel on his best day. Jason Terry was blowing by people and Barea was circling them; they hit threes, owned the lane, got to the line, and created for their teammates. For the first time in the series, because of Dallas’ drive-and-dish game, Miami’s defense was consistently playing on their back foot, and Dallas took full advantage. Through three, the Mavericks were up by five, but like all the games in this series, this one was decided in the fourth quarter.
Dwyane Wade came back to the bench with four-and-a-half minutes left in the third and checked in soon after, immediately going into attack mode and getting to the line even though his hip was visibly bothering him. Wade took control back from LeBron, who ceded it gladly. LeBron James had four assists in the final quarter, finishing off his triple double halfway through the fourth, though when he ran the pick and roll he never ventured inside the three-point line or made an attempt to get to the rim. Largely because of Wade and the timely scoring of Udonis Haslem, the Heat battled back to take control of the game, going up 100-97 on a Dwyane Wade three with less than five minutes left.
Then Dallas went on a 17-3 run to close out the game. Dirk was as deadly was ever, Jason Terry wouldn’t be denied, scoring or creating 13 of the Mavericks last 15 points and LeBron James forced me to look up synonyms for “disappear” in the dictionary. When Dallas was making their final run, LeBron James evanesced. While Dwyane Wade was great, he was hurt, and Dwyane Wade at 93 percent isn’t enough when LeBron James is drifting out to mid-court on offensive possessions.
LeBron played well for three quarters then, once again, fell flat in the fourth. He did, after all, have a triple double, but a triple double is not enough when the Butch Cassidy to your Sundance Kid has a bum wheel, you’re losing, and everyone is looking at you to be the one creating points and forcing the issue every time down the floor. The victors write history, and if the Heat wins, LeBron’s game goes down as a do-it-all within the flow of the game performance. In a loss, it’s not enough, especially in a game LeBron himself called the “biggest of his life.” He’s been outscored 52-11 by Dirk Nowitzki in the fourth quarter this series, including 8-2 last night. As suffocating as Dallas’ defense was, LeBron wasn’t good enough.
A triple double is a great game for anyone else, but he’s LeBron. And as much as his problems were on the offensive end, he wasn’t wrong to point to his defense. Throughout the game, but in the fourth quarter especially, Jason Terry did what Derrick Rose couldn’t do and solved LeBron James’ defense. Shawn Marion and Tyson Chandler led the Mavericks’ defense on the King, but they’ll all be overshadowed by the focus on LeBron coming up short. There’s a good chance LeBron didn’t come up short as much as Dallas’ defense shut him down and made Miami look like two guys frustrated they can’t run into people at full speed and draw fouls.
With Dwyane Wade nursing an injured hip, it’s good for Miami that there’s a two day break between games, but unless Wade turns in a performance we’ll come to know as “The Hip Game,” LeBron James has one final chance to say the last words about his 2011 playoff legacy before it’s set in stone that he choked on a level we’ve never seen before. It’s gotten to the point that people are making up baseless Internet rumors because they can’t fathom that LeBron is simply failing.
LeBron is as polarizing as Kobe, but imagine if Kobe always failed? How would he be treated? Would hate turn to awkwardness? Or pity? If LeBron doesn’t do something to change the story, his public perception is going to change drastically. He’ll be the most talented basketball player in the world, but too thin-skinned to properly function in the biggest moment.
—Photo AP/David J. Phillip
