Heat set date with Mavs

CHICAGO (AP):

This was how LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh envisioned it when they decided to unite in Miami, and now that a championship is in sight, they're not offering any apologies.

Don't like the decision?

Still upset about how everything unfolded?

Fine, but understand this:

"I wanted to team up with some guys that I understood would never die down in the moment," James said. "The opportunity presented itself with this great organisation, and D-Wade came to me and said it was possible. We made it happen."

James scored 28 points, Wade added 21 and they led a furious rally in the final minutes as the Heat eliminated Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls 83-80 in Game Five of the Eastern Conference finals on Thursday night.

James and Wade were simply spectacular down the stretch, each scoring eight during a game-ending 18-3 run as the Heat wiped out a 12-point deficit to win the series.

No sense of relief

Now, they are headed back to the NBA finals for the first time since 2006 and in a fitting twist, they'll be facing the Mavericks. Back then, with Wade leading the way, Miami beat Dallas to capture the championship. This time, it'll be James and Dirk Nowitzki going at it for their first rings.

The Heat will host Game One on Tuesday night.

"There's no sense of relief right now," James said. "We've still got work to do. We'll look at this moment tonight, have a little bit of time tomorrow to go over this moment, what we just accomplished. But we get ready for Dallas very soon. We don't take for granted this win and take for granted being Eastern Conference champions."

Rose led Chicago with 25 points but hit just nine of 29 shots. He fouled Wade on a key four-point play and missed a tying free throw with 26.7 seconds left.

"At the end, it's all me," Rose said. "Turnovers, missed shots, fouls, the series is over."

Now, James and his gang have their title shot.