Wade: “I'll Be Good For Game 6”

Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade didn’t allow for much detail concerning a hip injury that temporarily forced him out of Game 5 on Thursday night, but made clear that he expected to be ready for Game 6 this Sunday at the American Airlines Arena in Miami.

"It was unfortunate that I had to leave the game, but I came back and I finished it," Wade said, per ESPN Dallas. "I'll be fine Sunday. ... No problem at all. I'll be good for Game 6."

Of course, this isn’t all that surprising. All told, Wade only played around five minutes fewer than his series average and remained the Heat’s leading scorer with 23 points on 6-of-12 shooting. Of the 23, 15 points came after Wade suffered the injury, after colliding with Brian Cardinal in the second quarter.

"I'm smart enough to play the game without obviously being 100 percent," Wade said. "That's all I did when I came back. I wanted to help us get back in this ballgame, and I was able to be effective in a sense."

The Mavericks are in lockstep with Wade to this end, saying after Thursday night’s 112-103 victory that they don’t plan to alter their approach to defending the Heat star in any way after the injury.

"When he came back in the game, he came back aggressive," said guard Jason Terry. "So I don't know if he was hurt or what. To us it doesn't matter. He was on the floor. He got opportunities. He drove to the basket. So he's a tough cover. If he's out there, he's a threat."