Miami Heat Storm Their Way Back Into NBA Finals

The Miami Heat couldn't wait. They wanted the Dallas Mavericks and they wanted them now.

Storming back from a 12-point deficit with a stunning 16-2 run, the Heat pushed aside the Chicago Bulls in a remarkable 83-80 victory Thursday night at the United Center, winning the Eastern Conference finals 4-1.

"We had to go through the fire again tonight," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "But this team has built up a lot of resilience and toughness."

"It was an amazing, amazing performance by all these guys," Heat owner Mickey Arison said. "It was a very shocking performance."

All the perspective you need is this:

"We don't even know what happened," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said when it was over. "I can't even lie to you and say we do."

In many ways the turn of events was unfathomable.

"We want to watch the last four minutes of the game to see what happened," forward LeBron James said on the postgame podium.

Up next are the Mavericks in a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals, a series that opens at AmericanAirlines Arena on Tuesday night and continues with Game 2 next Thursday. Tickets for those two games go on sale Friday.

"We started this six months ago on the Air Force base and we still got some work to go," Spoelstra said of this remarkable camp-to-Finals journey.

With Wade overcoming a shaky start with a late four-point play and James adding a game-tying 3-pointer, the Heat silenced a crowd fully expecting a Game 6 on Saturday night in Miami.

"That was about as competitive a series as you can imagine," Spoelstra said. "They had our full respect."

James closed with 28 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, with Wade, who tied the franchise postseason record with nine turnovers, adding 21 points. Forward Chris Bosh chipped in 20 points and 10 rebounds.

"We've been through a lot together," Spoelstra said. We've been through the fires together."