2011 NBA Finals: Dallas Mavericks Take Series Lead 3-2 Take Momentum to Miami

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat 112-103 to take a 3-2 NBA Finals series lead.

Jason Terry hit a huge three-pointer with 33.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter to put the Dallas Mavericks up 108-101 and firmly swing the momentum all the way over the Dallas’ side of the meter.

Dallas will be heading back to Miami with all the momentum in their favor and their team play may prove to be a little bit too much for the superstar-centric Miami Heat to handle.

The Mavericks are a team made up of veterans and journeyman players. They are a team of players who have been desperately searching for a NBA title to go along with their multiple personal accolades, and I think that drive is what will eventually propel the Mavericks over the Heat.

While Dirk Nowitzki was the one coming up clutch in their past wins, the major contributors in the last two minutes for Dallas in Game 5 were guards Jason Terry and Jason Kidd.

In the last four minutes of the game Terry made two three-point shots and Kidd added another clutch three. They also combined for six clutch free throws with the game on the line and Miami fouling to stop the clock.

Dirk Nowitzki still played a huge game though and may be cementing his bid for series MVP.  He went 9-18 from the field, 1-for-1 behind the three-point line and was perfect on 10 shots from the free-throw line, finishing with 29 points.

Overall this was more of a team win for Dallas, who has been leaning heavily on Nowitzki, with five players in double figures.

On Miami’s side of the ball LeBron James bounced back from only eight points in Game 4 to score 17 points. He still played pretty bad though considering he went 8-19 from the field and 0-4 behind the line. He also only got to the charity stripe once, which is pretty disappointing considering that Miami coach Erik Spoelstra has been hoping for him to become more aggressive.

Dwyane Wade had another strong game with 23 points and Chris Bosh added 19.

The Miami Heat now head back to South Beach to try to win two in a row against the red hot Mavericks, which is not unlikely, but the odds are going to be stacked against them.

Dallas seems to be the more focused team at this point, and the Heats' dependence on the big three might end up being their biggest weakness.

Questions still remain about LeBron James and his ability to come up big in these moments, and unfortunately for him his play tonight did nothing to help his cause, nor his teams.

Game 6 will be on Sunday at 8:00pm EST. Stay tuned to Bleacher Report for reaction to Game 5, and a look forward at the rest of the series.

Follow Andrew on Twitter: @AKonSports