Mavs, Heat all square heading into Game 5

Will the 2011 NBA Finals go down as the series Dirk Nowitzki won or the one LeBron James lost? It�s certainly shaping up to be either-or with pivotal Game 5 of the Finals set for Thursday night at American Airlines Center (9 PM ET, ABC).

The Mavericks evened up the best-of-seven set at two games apiece with another come-from-behind win in Game 4 on Tuesday night. This time it was an 86-83 win after Dallas stunned Miami 95-93 as 4.5-point underdogs in Game 2.

Nowitzki led the Mavs with 21 points and 11 rebounds in Game 4 � including 10 points in the crucial fourth-quarter comeback � despite battling with the flu, and while he went only 6 of 19 from the floor, he came through when it mattered most.

The same can�t be said for James, who came into Finals as the favorite to win MVP but is now in need of a serious bounce-back game after a horrid showing in Game 4.

LeBron finished with just eight points on 3 of 11 shooting on Tuesday and while he did add nine boards and seven assists, the Heat need more from their best player if they�re to outlast the Mavs.

Or do they? James had an awful Game 4, but Miami was right there with a chance to put Dallas away down the stretch. If LeBron gets it going, the Mavericks are in serious trouble, especially because they have no answer for Dwyane Wade.

Rick Carlisle made a few changes in Game 4 � most notably moving J.J. Barea into the starting lineup in place of DeShawn Stevenson � but he also put Jason Kidd on James on the defensive end.

That move paid dividends, as evidenced by LeBron�s aforementioned numbers. James was also a -6, while Kidd didn�t score in 38 minutes but was a game-high +12.

Shawn Marion picked up Wade, but Flash continued to roll, finishing with 32 points and six rebounds on 13 of 20 from the field.

That said, Wade fumbled an inbounds pass with 6.7 seconds left that all but sealed the win for Dallas, which wasn�t able to cover as 3-point favorites at Oddsmaker. The Heat are now 2-1-1 ATS in the series heading into Game 5.

Bettors playing the total for Thursday�s game should lean towards the �under�. Game 4 played �under� the 187-point total, and the �over� has yet to cash in the series.

�Under� bettors have the Mavs� defense to thank for their good fortunes. Trailing 74-65 early in the fourth quarter, Dallas held Miami to nine points the rest of the way to finish the game on a 21-9 run.