Wade returns, Heat trail Mavericks 60-57 at half

Burberry outlet—Surviving an injury scare to guard Dwyane Wade but finding themselves playing at a furious pace for the first time this series, the Miami Heat went into halftime down 60-57 Thursday to the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. The teams entered tied 2-2 in the best-of-seven NBA Finals, coming off the Mavericks' 86-83 Tuesday Game 4 victory. Wade left with a bruised left hip with 2:58 to play in the first quarter, after a collision with Mavericks forward Brian Cardinal. He then returned, gingerly, to the bench with 8:52 left in the second quarter, immediately reinserted.

Burberry outlet forward Chris Bosh and guard Mario Chalmers each had 13 first-half points for the Heat, with LeBron James, coming off his eight-point Game 4, with nine at halftime on 4-of-10 shooting. Forward Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 16 first-half points. With Wade injured early, Joel Anthony in early foul trouble and the fouls mounting, the Heat got to some unusual early lineups, which included a first-quarter appearance by Juwan Howard and a second-quarter entrance by Eddie House, his first action of these finals. Through all the adversity, the Heat at one stage in the second period had scored on 19 of 22 possessions, shooting 15 of 19 during that run.

Burberry outlet through the early adversity, the Heat managed to move to a 31-30 lead entering the second quarter, after getting a buzzer-beating 3-point heave at the end of the first quarter by Chalmers for the second consecutive game. "We actually didn't even play well so we're very fortunate to even have a one-point lead," coach Erik Spoelstra said during his televised interview at the end of the first quarter. "Giving up that many points, easy opportunities at the rim, that's not us. We've got to clean up on both ends of the floor. It was the first 30-point quarter of the series for both teams. The Heat's best offense early was Wade bullying his way to the foul line, with the Heat guard converting his first six free throws on the way to eight first-period points before heading to the locker room.

Burberry outlet lazy passes left the Heat with three early turnovers and a quick 13-6 deficit, even with the Mavericks opening 1 of 5 from the field. Dallas had nine fastbreak points in the first half of the first quarter, after scoring six in all of Game 4. For all the talk of early energy by James, he air-balled a runner on his first attempt and was short on a jumper before scoring on a run-out layup after yielding a 3-pointer to Mavericks guard Jason Kidd. He then fell to 1 of 4 after a missed jumper. Game 6 is scheduled for 8 p.m. Sunday in Miami, with Game 7, if needed, also at AmericanAirlines Arena, at 9 p.m. Tuesday. Of the previous 26 Finals tied 2-2, the winner of Game 5 has gone on to win 19 of those series. Last year, however, the Los Angeles Lakers lost Game 5 to the Boston Celtics to fall to a 3-2 deficit before winning the series' final two home games at Staples Center.

Burberry outlet prior to last year, the previous team tied 2-2 to lose Game 5 and win the Finals was the Houston Rockets in 1994 against Pat Riley's New York Knicks. When the Heat won the 2006 title over the Mavericks, they went from a 2-2 tie to a 4-2 series victory. Since the NBA went to the 2-3-2 scheduling format in 1985 for the Finals, the road team has never won the final two games. Dallas again was without backup center Brendan Haywood, who continues to deal with hip issues. He was replaced on the active roster by point guard Roddy Beaubois.

Still No Crown for King as James, Heat Fall Short

Burberry outlet good thing LeBron James had that big party when he arrived here last summer. For now, that's the only celebration he gets in Miami. He brought his talents to South Beach to win titles, so he'd have All-Star help around him and he wouldn't have to carry the team. Problem was, the Heat couldn't carry LeBron. His first finals with the Heat ended Sunday night with the Dallas Mavericks' 105-95 victory in Game 6. James started strong and faltered at the finish, just the way the Heat did in this series. Miami simply couldn't overcome his poor fourth quarters in most of the series. He had only 11 points in the final periods of the first five games, a major reason the Mavericks kept finding ways to rally late in games they trailed much of the way.

Burberry outlet he had seven in the final quarter of this one to finish with 21, but he had gone too long without impacting the game after scoring nine of Miami's first 14 points. And while they celebrated in Dallas, there was surely a big bash going on in Ohio, James' home state. Fans there were stunned and shunned when he decided to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the hurt turned to rage when he opted to do it in the heavily criticized TV show called "The Decision," where he announced he was taking his talents to South Beach. And make no mistake, it's a load of talent. James just couldn't figure out how to use it in this series.

Burberry outlet he claimed confusion over how to be most effective when superstar buddy Dwyane Wade was playing well. He said he wasn't tired from playing too many minutes, that nothing was wrong with his shot. But something was amiss, because the two-time league MVP, largely considered the most talented player in the NBA, was at best the third-best player in this series behind Dirk Nowitzki and Wade. When it was over, James walked over to Wade for a hug, then shook hands with some Mavericks players.

Burberry outlet nothing quite like the spectacle he found in this arena last summer, when the Heat hosted a pep rally to celebrate winning the free agency championship by adding James and Chris Bosh. And that's the only crown the King gets to wear from now.