Mattie T’s Game 4 Recap of the 2006 NBA Finals

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have ourselves a series.

The Miami Heat played their best game so far, using a dominant fourth quarter to blow out the Dallas Mavericks 98-74 and tie the NBA Finals at 2 games apiece.

Miami took a 30-25 lead after the 1st quarter, but something happened that we don’t normally see in a game which set the tone for the evening.

In a 47 second span during the 1st quarter, Dallas took 5 consecutive shots after getting 4 offensive rebounds to keep the possesions alive. They missed them all. That sequence was a big part in Dallas shooting just 39% for the quarter, and it would not get any better for the remainding 36 minutes.

Miami took a 54-44 lead at halftime despite Shaq sitting on the bench for most of the half in foul trouble. In the third quarter, a play by Jerry Stackhouse may have just done the trick to flaire up tempers on both sides.

Miami had a comfortable 20 pt third quarter lead when Jerry Stackhouse committed something that he might regret later on after the Finals are over-a flagrant foul on Shaq. O’Neal was leveled to the floor by Stackhouse on a fast-break attempt. His teammates quickly ran over to him so they could prevent Shaq from retaliating.

After the game, Shaq talked about the flagrant foul. “My daughters tackle me harder when i come home” O’Neal said. “I’m one of the last players from the old school , and you know, you just gotta take a hard foul and keep on movin’. It actually felt pretty good to get hit like that. Thank You Jerry, appreciate it.”

Dallas made their final run, an 8-0 spark to close the deficit to 78-67 entering the fourth, but that’s where it would end. The Mavericks also made some NBA History in Game 4, but it wasn’t on the positive side.

Dallas set an NBA Record for fewest points in a quarter during an NBA Finals game with 7. The previous record was held by two teams: The Utah Jazz with 9 (vs. Chicago during the ‘97-98 Finals) The New Jersey Nets with 9 (vs. San Antonio during the ‘02-03 Finals)

Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki rolled his ankle in the fourth quarter, so with the game out of hand, coach Avery Johnson sent his star player to the bench. Nowitzki will have 2 off-days to try and improve that ankle and get ready for Game 5 on Sunday.

Let’s look at the box score:

The Miami Heat were once again led by star guard Dwyane Wade, who had another brilliant game scoring 36 points and grabbing 6 rebounds.

Wade has been just unstoppable since this series has shifted to Miami. He has scored a combined total of 78 points in Games 3 & 4 (both Heat wins) while shooting 27-49 from the field (55%) and grabbing 19 rebounds. He’s the easy favorite for Finals MVP if Miami wins this series. For the series, Wade is averaging 32.3 PPG.

Shaq added 17 points and 13 rebounds. O’Neal has not yet scored 20 pts or more in this series which would usually be a cause of concern, but Wade’s spectacular play has downsided Shaq’s numbers as Miami has been able to get themselves back into this series.

James Posey provided the Heat with his best game of the series, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Posey played 26 minutes due to Udonis Haslem’s foul trouble, and made the most of his time on the court. Posey also played excellent defense on the Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki throughout the game. Antoine Walker added 14 points.

The Mavericks were led by Jason Terry’s 17 points. Miami has kept Terry in check since he scored 32 points to lead Dallas to a Game 1 win. Terry is averaging 16.3 PPG through Games 2-4. Dirk Nowitzki scored 16 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, but do note that Nowitzki shot 2-14 from the field. Dirk is shooting 23-64 (35.9%) so far in the Finals.

Jerry Stackhouse also added 16 despite his 6-18 shooting. The NBA league office will review Stackhouse’s flagrant foul on Shaq and decide if any fines or a possible suspension is upcoming.

For the second straight game, Miami dominated the rebounding battle which has also allowed them to get back into this series. Miami outrebounded Dallas 48-36 in Game 4. In game 3, Miami outrebounded Dallas 49-34, which gives Miami an 13.5 rebound advantages in Games 3 & 4. In Game 1, Miami outrebounded Dallas 45-43, and in Game 2, Dallas outrebounded Miami 46-32, giving Dallas an 8 rebound advantage.

Now for the first time in the Finals, the pressure is on Dallas. Miami has outscored Dallas in five consecutive quarters to tie this series up and gain a lot of confidence along the way.

The decisive Game 5 is on Sunday night, as someone will go back to Dallas for Tuesday’s Game 6 just one win away from capturing what they have dreamed of since the start of training camp back in October: An NBA Championship.

Can Dallas somehow find a way to regain composure and pick up a critical road win, or will Miami keep it rolling and try to become just the second team in Finals History to win all three of their home games? (Detroit did it in the ‘03-04 Finals against the L.A. Lakers.)

Tune into a pivotal Game 5 on Sunday night from Miami, 8 PM on ABC!

Signing off,

Mattie T

Sports Writer for BMS Radio Chicago

www.myspace.com/bmsradio