Miami won 92-84 in Game 1 of this year’s NBA Finals but then the next three games were decided by three points or less. The last time three consecutive games of an NBA Finals had been decided by three points or less came way back in 1948. That the set the stage for Game 5 on Thursday night with the series tied at two-all. NBA playoff history says that the Game 5 winner of a series tied at 2-2 has gone on to win 134 of... Read more

Game 5 of the NBA Finals is set for 9:00 ET on ABC. One could argue that the Heat look like the better team but Miami sure hasn’t been able to close out games. The Mavs outscored the Heat 21-9 over the final 10:12 of Tuesday’s Game 4, giving them an 86-83 win and tying the series at two-all. The Heat went 1-of-9 on FG attempts over the final 7:23 of the game and LBJ failed to score in double digits for the first time... Read more

The Heat jumped out to a 14-point lead on the Mavs in the second quarter of Game 3 but the Mavs did close the margin to five points (47-42) at the half. The second half was close most of the way but the Heat did take an 81-74 lead with about 6 1/2 minutes left in the game. However, Dirk would score all of the Mavs’ next 12 points, tying the game at 86-all with 1:40 to go. The game could have gone either way down the stretch... Read more

Dwayne Wade knocked down a three-pointer with just over seven minutes to go In Thursday’s Game 2, giving the Heat an 88-73 lead at the end of a 13-0 run. The basket gave Wade 36 points for the game but he never scored again and the Heat were outscored 22-5 the rest of the way, as the Mavs ‘stole’ Game 2 to make this NBA Finals a series. Wade would take just two shots in the game’s final seven minutes while Miami combined... Read more

Dallas and Miami opened the 2011 NBA Finals on Tuesday and after one quarter, the Mavs led 17-16. It was the lowest-scoring Game 1 first quarter of any NBA Finals in the shot clock era. It also tied as the fourth-lowest total for any Finals quarter since 1955. Dallas would lead 44-43 at the half and then score the first seven points of the second half to open a 51-43 advantage. However, the Heat would outscore the Mavs... Read more

The Spurs (the West’s No. 1 seed) got ‘bounced’ in the first round of this year’s postseason and the Bulls (the overall No. 1 seed) were eliminated in the conference finals by the Heat. That means that just two teams with the league’s best regular season record (the 2008 Celtics and the 2003 Spurs) have gone on to win the NBA title over the last 11 years, since the Shaq and Kobe-led Lakers of 1999-2000 won the first of... Read more

The Bulls, like the Thunder vs the Mavs, were not able to match up with the Heat during ‘crunch time.’ The Bulls had EVERY chance to win Game 4, but eventually lost in OT. Then last night back home for Game 5, saw the Heat close with an 18-3 run in the final 3:03, closing out the series with an 83-80 victory. Miami made all six attempts from the floor (including three, three-pointers) in that stretch while the Bulls made... Read more

The Mavs came from 15 points down with just under five minutes to go to win Game 4 in OT vs the Thunder and last night, closed out Oklahoma City with another late surge, outscoring the Thunder 14-4 in the last 4:37, turning a six-point deficit into a 100-96 win. Nowitzki hit a HUGE three with 1:14 left that put the Mavericks ahead for good and then made the game-clinching free throws. Since blowing a 23-point lead in... Read more

The Thunder closed as four-point favorites in Game 4 and could have easily won and not covered Monday night. However, the Mavs not only came all the way back from 15 points down with under five minutes to go by ending regulation on a 17-2 run but also went on to win outright in OT, 112-105. Last night’s game saw a 19-4 run by the Bulls, followed by a 29-9 spurt for the Heat and then another 18-7 run by the Bulls, all... Read more

The Mavs have won at least 50 games in 11 straight seasons but have no titles and only one trip to the NBA finals to show for it. Worse yet, the Mavs lost that 2006 appearance against the Heat, after taking a 2-0 lead in games. The Mavericks led the Heat 89-76 with 6:30 remaining in the fourth quarter of Game 3 in that series as well, but Miami came back to win the game 98-96 and take the series with four straight wins... Read more