MIAMI - Nagbalik ang Miami Heat sa south Florida noong Biyernes at determinadong makabangon mula sa dalawang sunod na kabiguan sa Dallas Mavericks kung saan ‘nawala’ si LeBron James sa crunch time.
Tangan ng Dallas ang isang 3-2 lead sa kanilang best-of-seven series at kailangan na lamang manalo sa Linggo o Martes upang makopo ang kanilang kauna-unahang NBA championship sa kanilang tatlong dekadang paglalaro.
“We go back to Miami and we wouldn’t have it any other way,” wika ni Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “We worked extremely hard to get that home court. Nothing that we’ve achieved this year has been easy. So we’re certainly not going to start now.”
Nakuha ng Heat ang Game 3 sa Dallas para kunin ang 2-1 series lead ngunit natalo naman sa Games 4 at 5.
Ayaw magpatalo ng Miami sa Dallas lalo na sa kanilang balwarte.
“We look at it the other way,” sabi ni Spoelstra. “We’re going home, and we wouldn’t have it any other way than the hard way. This is an opportunity for us,” he said.
“That’s why you play a seven-game series. You got to play it out. And this is where we feel comfortable,” dagdag pa ng Fil-Am mentor.
Ang pananamlay ng opensa ni James sa fourth quarter ang kinukuwestiyon ng kanyang mga kritiko.
Hindi siya nakaiskor sa fourth quarter sa 86-83 tagumpay ng Dallas noong Martes at may 1-of-4 fieldgoals naman sa Game 5 sa 103-112 kabiguan ng Miami.
Ayon kay James, naglista ng 17 points, 10 rebounds at 10 assists sa Game 5, hindi kailangan ng kanyang koponan na tumira siya.
“I don’t think it was a case of offense,” ani James, a former scoring champion. “There was enough offensive play. We shot 52 percent. They shot 56 percent.
“We scored 103 points, they scored 112. The offense wasn’t a problem,” sabi pa ng two-time NBA MVP awardee.
Sa nakaraang limang laro sa serye, may kabuuang 11 points si James sa fourth quarter.
Bukod kay James, muling aasahan ng Heat sina forward Chris Bosh at All-Star Dwyane Wade sa Game 6.