Heat-Mavericks Game 6 Could Crown New NBA Champion

It's time for Heat-Mavericks Game 6 and possibly the end to the NBA Finals. The Heat will play host to the Mavericks tonight. Dallas was able to take a 3-2 series lead during the three games at home, and now it has the chance to close out the series with a win on the road. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is in the perfect position to raise the first championship trophy for the city, but the pressure could not be more intense than it is right now.

LeBron James, the best player in the NBA, had a rough Game 5 in Dallas according to some but still posted a triple-double. Now he will be asked to do even more in Game 6, especially if he wants his critics to finally take a step back from the podium. At this point though, it seems like the only way he could silence everyone would be by scoring 50 points and then closing out the series with 60 points in Game 7 later in the week.

It would be terrible if this was a series that was remembered for the Heat not playing up to their talent, and not for the great basketball that Dallas has been playing. The Mavericks played some lights-out basketball on Thursday, and according to ESPN, they shot 56.5 percent. That is in addition to shooting 13-of-19 on three-pointers. It's hard to imagine the Mavericks could shoot better in Game 6, but they may just have to if Miami is to be beaten at home.

As for the Heat, this is a team that still shot 52.9 percent from the field and even hit on 40 percent of three-pointers. There are plenty of teams that would love to shoot 40 percent from long range, and that point gets glossed over when James scores just 17 of their points. Maybe he has just been too good over the past seven years, and now the expectations are that he needs to win the series with a last second dunk over four Mavericks.

Game 6 series will tip off shortly after 8 p.m. EDT and it has the makings of a great game. Both sides are going to be bringing out everything to try and stop the opponent on defense, but it could still come down to which team is hitting the clutch shots. Now the only question will be which of the many superstars on the court is going to be the hero for now.