It was just two weeks ago

that Scottie Pippen said that LeBron James may be better than his former teammate Michael Jordan.
He may want to rethink that opinion.
James struggled once again in the fourth quarter as Miami lost Game 5 in Dallas, 112-103 as 1-point underdogs. The Heat now trail the series 3-2 as they head back to South Beach for Game 6 on Sunday night.
The Don Best odds screen has Miami as solid 6-point home favorites with a total of 187-points. The opening tip will come around 5:00 p.m. (PT).
The Mavericks won Game 4 (86-83) with a 21-9 run to end the contest. They did themselves one better last game with a 17-4 final run after trailing 99-95 with 4:37 left. It was the first time a team won consecutive games this series.
James had a triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. However, his scoring woes continued in the fourth quarter, just two meaningless points. He now has 11 total points in the final stanza this series. That’s not a misprint.
Jason Terry scored points 21 last game and was the anti-LeBron by scoring eight fourth-quarter points for the second game in a row. It’s imperative that Dirk Nowitzki (29 points) get sufficient help each game and the JJ Barea (17 points, five assists) experiment as starting point is here to stay.
This was the first offensive explosion of the series. Miami shot 52.9 percent from the field and still lost. That’s because Dallas was at 56.5 percent, including a ridiculous 13-of-19 from beyond the arc (68.4 percent).
Needless to say, the 215 combined points scored soared way ‘over’ the 184 ½-point total. The ‘under’ was 3-0-1 in the first four games with no team scoring more than 95 points.
Both teams are 2-2-1 against the spread this series.
The Heat are certainly down – but not out. They have several things going for them starting with the homecourt. The Lakers came back last year in the Finals against Boston by winning the last two at home.
Dallas is also not going to shoot that well from 3-point land again. Terry averaged 17.7 PPG on 47.5 percent shooting the last three games in Dallas, but just 14 PPG on 38.1 percent the first two in Miami. He needs to have his ‘A’ game to pull out a win.
Dwyane Wade also looks like a man on a mission, doing his share with 23 points last game and making big shots. He’s averaging 28.4 PPG this series and has basically wrapped up Finals MVP if Miami wins (sorry LeBron).
Wade did suffer a hip injury after a collision with the seldom-used Brian Cardinal. He left late in the first quarter and missed the first seven-plus minutes of the third after getting additional treatment. He has two full days of rest and it shouldn’t affect his performance too much if last game is any indication.
The oddsmakers seem to share the optimism surrounding the Heat’s chances. They’re around even odds to win the series despite being the game down.
Miami won Game 1 in South Beach (92-84) before Dallas took Game 2 (95-93) after a 15-point comeback. Coach Erik Spoelstra will certainly remind his guys about that game.
Miami is 9-1 straight-up at home in the playoffs overall (7-3 ATS), while Dallas is 6-3 SU and 7-1-1 ATS away.
Wade is listed as probable for Sunday as is Dallas’ Shawn Marion (calf). Mavericks center Brendan Haywood (hip) missed last game and is listed as questionable. That forced little known Ian Mahinmi into some backup minutes, although starting center Tyson Chandler (13 points, seven rebounds) was solid once again.
Game 7 will be played in Miami on Tuesday night if necessary, and the Heat fans are surely praying that it is. ABC shifts back the coverage to 6:00 p.m. (PT).