Dallas Mavericks 60 vs. Miami Heat 57 – NBA Finals Game-5 Halftime Report
Dirk Nowitzki added 16 points and four rebounds, shooting 6-for-9 from the field, as the Dallas Mavericks headed the Miami Heat 60-57 in the fifth game of the National Basketball Association (NBA) finals 2011 on Thursday night
American Airlines Center.
Centre Tyson Chandler played a fantastic game in the first half and added 11 points while Jason Terry chipped in with nine points and four important assists. Chris Bosh led the Heat with 13 points and five boards while guard Mario
Chalmers also came off the bench with 13 points at halftime. Dwyane Wade scored 11 points while LeBron James could find his rhythm in the first half of the game, adding nine points only.
First Quarter
Players from both teams missed some easy shots in the first minute of the play however Dallas managed to take a 4-2 lead early in the quarter. Wade responded for the Heat with two free throws however Dallas on the back of Jason
Kidd’s three-pointer, two jump shots by Nowitzki, and a turnaround hook shot by Shawn Marion romped to a 13-6 advantage with 07:21 to go in the quarter. Bosh’s finger roll lay-up in the next possession cut the Heat’s deficit to 13-8.
Nowitzki then hit a pair of free throws to stretch the lead to 15-8 however Miami went on a 6-3 run to make it make it a four-point contest, 18-14, with 04:01 left in the opening quarter. The Mavericks were in their zone though
and again raced ahead to 27-21 late in the frame. However, Chalmers hit two successive three-pointers and Juwan Howard nailed two jump shots in the last minute of the quarter that put the Heat ahead by one point, 31-30, after 12 minutes.
Second Quarter
Miami made early inroads going into the second quarter and took a 50-44 lead midway through the frame. The Mavericks then turned it on and went on an 8-2 run to knot the game at 52-52 with 02:37 remaining. Free throws by James
and Chalmers put the Heat ahead by 54-52; however Dallas took over the game after that.
Nowitzki was the man behind the surge again. He slipped in a pair of free throw and followed it with a driving lay-up. Jason Terry then struck with a pull-up jump shot by to make it 58-54 for the Mavs. A three-pointer by Chalmers
cut the deficit to one with just 26 seconds to go, but Dirk again propelled the Mavs with a jumper and gave them a 60-57 lead with six seconds to go. James missed a three-pointer at the close as the teams headed to the locker room.
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