Dirk Nowitzki scored six points in the final 2:05 of the second quarter, sending the Dallas Mavericks into halftime of Game 5 of the NBA finals with a 60-57 lead over the Miami Heat on Thursday night.
Nowitzki showed he's shaken most of the effects of a sinus infection, save for a few sniffles, by scoring 16 points at the break. Tyson Chandler had 11 as the Mavericks scored the most points of any team against the Heat in any half this postseason.
LeBron James had nine points for Miami, one more than he had in an a surprisingly passive performance in Game 4. Although he wasn't shooting at will, he took a team-high 10 shots, making four.
Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers led the Heat with 13 points and Chris Bosh had 11.
Wade did not start the second half because of an injured left hip. Mike Miller started in his place and Wade reported into the game with 4:33 to go in the third quarter.
Wade was hurt during the first quarter and went to the locker room for treatment. He returned to play nearly nine minutes in the second quarter, but apparently got worse during the extended halftime of a finals — 16 minutes, instead of the usual 14.