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Entering last night’s Game 5 against the Dallas Mavericks, LeBron James told reporters that it was “the biggest game of his life.” Hours before the game, he tweeted “Now or Never!” to his two million followers. James said that he understood what was at stake and promised that he would enter the game with an aggressive approach.

While he finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists – the thirteenth triple-double in Finals history – James still failed to show up when his team needed him most in the fourth quarter. He had just two points in the final twelve minutes, missing several crucial shots and once again letting Dwyane Wade run the show.

On this night, James had no excuse for deferring to Wade – he didn’t have the hot hand or favorable match-up. In fact, Wade had started the second half in the locker room because of a left hip contusion, and he clearly wasn’t at full strength.

Everything had lined up perfectly for James to take over and silence the critics that emerged after his 8-point performance in Game 4. The stage was set for a Herculean performance. However, he didn’t make things happen late in the game and now the HEAT find themselves one game away from elimination.

“LeBron was much more aggressive tonight,” Erik Spoelstra said after the game. “Obviously, he had a triple double and he had an impact on the game.”

But how much more of an impact could he have had if he had taken charge in the fourth quarter? What if he had attacked the basket and shot more than just two free throws?

James’ performance was so baffling that the first question asked during his press conference was: “Are you struggling at all with the pressure of The Finals, the pressure of the fourth quarter?”

“No, I don’t think so,” James responded. “I don’t believe so. I know I’m not.  We, as a team, played good enough to win again. We put ourselves in position to win down the stretch.  Everyone, guys made plays.  They just made a few more than we did. That’s what it came down to.”

“The only thing that applies to me is a win,” he later added. “A win or a loss. I could have made a couple more plays for my team.  But at the end of the day, all it’s about is a win or a loss. Triple double means absolutely nothing in a loss so we will be better in Game 6 on Sunday.”

When asked why he didn’t drive more, particularly when the game was in the final stages, James said he was simply attempting shots he usually makes.

“I didn’t think about [driving].  D-Wade gave it to me, I had enough room and I shot it.  They’re shots I’ve made before. I just didn’t make it that time,” James said.

Now, as the series heads back to South Beach, Spoelstra admitted one of his top priorities will be figuring out how to get James going in the fourth quarter from here on out. Throughout the playoffs, Miami had spent hours working on late-game scenarios during practice, and more work will be in the team’s future.

“There’s obviously going to be some priorities in terms of closing out games, which we’ve been very good at the last two and a half months, and particularly during our playoff run.  We haven’t been able to do it consistently enough in this series.  And that’s something we’ll address.  That’s been a fabric all season long, being able to work and improve on things,” Spoelstra said.

All eyes will be on James as the two teams take the court on Sunday night. Some want to see him dominate; others want to see him fail. This will be the biggest game of his career and his play will in large part determine whether or not the Mavericks hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy on Biscayne Boulevard.

James must step up because another lackluster performance could be his last. This time, it truly is now or never.

Players Endorse Vogel Hiring: The Indiana Pacers have yet to make a decision regarding Frank Vogel’s future. As of today, he’s still the interim head coach of the Pacers, and while he’s been dubbed the favorite to land the full-time gig, team president Larry Bird has yet to hand over the reins to Vogel.

After the team exceeded expectations in the second half of the season and landed in the playoffs for the first time since 2006, Vogel earned the respect of his players. Now, they’re offering their supporting and endorsing the interim coach.

“I’ll be happy if Frank gets picked,” Roy Hibbert said. “I’ve been with him since I was a rookie, so I hope he gets it. I understand that Larry’s taking his time now, but I’m pulling for (Vogel).”

“I really feel strong about having Vogel around,” Paul George said. “I love him as a coach, as a person. But I have no control over it. I have to just go with whatever Mr. Bird goes with.”

“I would like to see Frank get it,” Lance Stephenson said. “He helped us out this year. He made us come in more as a group. I hope Larry Bird sees what happened and we can move forward.”

While Bird won’t reveal the timetable for his decision, he has praised Vogel and the excellent job he did after Jim O’Brien was fired.

“I think Frank did an excellent job, stepping in without the experience of a head coaching job,” Bird said after the season ended. “The way he conducted himself, he brought positive energy to this team. We won more games than we lost. We did it with a young team, a team that’s trying to grow.”

Sources close to the situation believe that the two sides will eventually agree on a multi-year deal.

It certainly doesn’t hurt when the players are publically campaigning in your favor.

Krstic Heading Overseas: The possibility of a lockout has already cost the NBA one player.

Nenad Krstic, who would have been a free agent this summer, is choosing to head overseas rather than wait out the labor talks and find a new NBA home. Had he become a free agent, he would have generated some interest from around the league and the Boston Celtics would have liked to have him back.

{AUTHOR_BOX}Instead, he’ll be playing for CSKA Moscow on a two-year contract worth $9.6 million.

“I was contacted by Nenad’s agent and with the uncertainty of the labor situation of the NBA, I think he decided to take the sure thing,” Danny Ainge told The Boston Globe.

“He’s been sharing his situation with me,” said Ainge. “I talked to him just the other day. He loved Boston and had a great desire to return there and play, but I think the uncertainty gave him [a reason to leave]. I guess this is what he felt, that he was going to take this opportunity.”

With Krstic leaving, the Celtics will pursue another big man, likely through free agency.

“Regardless of whether he goes over there, he was a free agent this summer anyway,” Ainge said. “We were going to have to have someone play center. If it wasn’t Nenad Krstic, it was going to be someone else. So we’re still in that situation, other than we don’t have the option to bring back Nenad with us.”

Last season, Krstic averaged 8.1 points and 4.7 rebounds in 67 games.

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