Miami just can't close out the Mavs. Who will last longest?
Dare I say it, the flu-game, from Dirk? I guess it looks like Michael Jordan isn’t the only one now who carried his team to an NBA Finals matchup victory while playing with the flu. It’s always good to get your name mentioned in the same sentence with Michael Jordan, right? Dirk Nowitzki was even sniffling during his post-game interview with the media, so let there be no mistake about it, the man was sick! What a series we have here on our hands. Again I say, these 2011 NBA Finals just got serious and we are now tied at two games-a-piece. Miami fans must now heed the warning and realize that the Dallas Mavericks are here and that the threat is for real.
Neither team is going down easily and it looks like it’s going to be a fight all the way to the finish—a possible game 7 matchup. Dallas looked much better in this game tonight as they did not turn the ball over nearly as much as they did in the previous three games—only 11 turnovers for Dallas in game 4 as opposed to Miami’s 13. Is it any coincidence that this may have led to a win? It has been clear to see that the Mavericks have been shooting themselves in the foot all series long with the constant miscues and errant passes. Finally, they buckled down and it paid off in a big way.
Battling against the flu and feverish conditions, Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points and collected 11 crucial rebounds. Any rebound against this Miami Heat team is a clutch and crucial one. They can kill you easily with second chance buckets and quick transition points, so rebounding against them is key. Shawn Marion came up huge for Dallas once again adding in a 16-point contribution and scoring in big time situations. Tyson Chandler was a monster on the glass as he went for 16 all-important rebounds—nine of them offensive. J.J Barea was finally able to wake up some of his offensive game as he dropped a couple of tough, circus shot layups with nothing but Heat jerseys surrounding him. As bad a series as Barea is having with the missed layups and poor field goal shooting percentage, Dallas still relies on him to help spark the team off the bench along with Jason Terry.
No matter how Terry and Barea are feeling, Dallas is going to need both of them to step up big in order to take some pressure off Dirk. Terry was clutch however in game 4 as he scored 17 points and knocked down two very important free throws to put Dallas up by 3 with only 6.7 seconds remaining in the game.
D-Wade handled the bulk of the scoring again as he went for 36 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals. LeBron James was more of a facilitator tonight as he only scored 8 points, but did grab 9 rebounds and handed out 7 assists. Chris Bosh was also highly effective again tonight as he added in 24 points and 6 rebounds. The Miami Heat only knocked down two three-pointers all game long and those came from Mike Miller. The Heat went 2 for 14 all game from beyond the arc. Dallas on the other hand didn’t two too much better from downtown as they only shot 21%. DeShawn Stevenson drilled 3 big three-pointers during the game which was monumental in giving Dallas momentum that they so desperately needed—he had 11 points in the game.
Dallas just looked better tonight than they have all series long. They played tougher defense, rebounded better, knocked down more uncontested shots and turned the ball over less, which will prove to be very important to their NBA Finals hopes. Again, they fought back from a 9-point deficit and stunned the Miami Heat. On the Heat’s last chance to tie the game, Dwayne Wade muffed the inbound pass and blew the moment for the Miami faithful, Mike Miller was then forced to put up an ugly look with the buzzard winding down. The shot went wide left and Dallas held on for the series tying win.
Who would have thought the Dallas Mavericks would be in this predicament? They are now tied in the NBA Finals series, two games-a-piece, against the rival Heat who beat them for the NBA Finals in 06. It’s beginning to look like Dirk is ready for his just due. The end is nearing in sight and game 5 now becomes just as pivotal as game 4 was. American Airlines Arena will have to bring more energy and contribute more with the noise factor in order to help Dallas get over this game 5 hump. Both teams will now play desperately to get the advantage in the series before heading back to Miami to wrap things up.
Game 5 will be very physical and both squads will need to bring their “A” games. This finals series is going to come down to an outlasting. Which team will outlast the other and take home the trophy? I think it’s official now and there’s no getting around it, but Miami has just realized that they have a series on their hand. Winning the NBA Finals will be no cake walk for either team. Game 5 will start on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.
