By Paul Levine Jun 16, 2006, 6:29 GMT
Los Angeles - The Dallas Mavericks were floored by the one-two-punch of the Miami Heat.
Dallas Mavericks guard Devin Harris (L) collides with Miami Heat guard James Posey (R) during the fourth period of game four of the NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida Thursday 15 June 2006. The Heat beat the Mavericks 98-74 to tie up the best of seven game series 2-2. EPA/DAVID ADAME
Dwyane Wade scored 36 points and Shaquille O'Neal had 17 along with 13 rebounds as the Heat blew out the cold-shooting Mavericks 98-74 Thursday night to square the NBA Finals at two-games apiece.
'This is the way we knew it would be if we came out and played the way the Miami Heat play,' said Wade, who showed no effects of a bruised left knee by connecting on 13-of-23 shots. 'A lot of people have doubting us the whole year and we thrive off of that.
'It's 2-2 now and we got a series, so now it's the best-of-three and we've got another home game,' he continued. 'We're looking forward to taking care of business.'
Miami has bounced back at home after suffering a pair of blowout road losses in the opener of the best-of-seven series. The Heat again will host Sunday's pivotal game five before returning to Dallas for game six, and seven, if necessary.
'Tonight was our first complete game,' O'Neal said. 'Hopefully, we can continue to do play this well and keep it going. It's a whole new series now, but we know they're going to come hard on Sunday.'
James Posey had 15 points and 10 rebounds off the bench and Antoine Walker chipped in with 14 points for Miami, which shot a sizzling 51.5 (34-of 66) per cent from the field to improve to 10-1 at home in the postseason.
Jason Terry had 17 points and Jerry Stackhouse had 16 for Dallas, which shot an icy 32 per cent (25-of-79) from the floor in the blowout loss.
German juggernaut Dirk Nowitzki shot just 2-of-14 and finished with just 16 points - 12 below his playoff average - and suffered a sprained left ankle early in the fourth quarter.
'They played with a lot of confidence tonight,' Nowitzki said. 'Dwyane was great again, Shaq was a beast down there. Their role players made shots, so they had it going.
'On the other hand, we couldn't get much going,' he continued. 'A lot of shots already down came back out. The bottom line is that if you shoot 32 per cent from the floor you're not going to win.'
Dallas, however, remains upbeat despite the spanking.
'Right now we're fine, it's 0-0,' said forward Josh Howard, who finished with just three points following 21 in game three. 'We know we've done wrong and have to get back to the drawing board again. Game five is going to be a big test for us on Sunday.'
Trailing by as many as 20 points, the Mavericks cut the lead in half, 80-70 on a three-point play by Devin Harris with nine minutes remaining. The Heat answered, however. O'Neal made two free throws and Posey buried a 3-pointer and followed with a pair of free throws of his own to ignite a game-sealing 18-0 run, sending the American Airlines Arena sellout crowd into a frenzy.
'It was our best game, no doubt,' said Heat coach Pat Riley, whose club outscored the Mavericks, 20-7 in the final period. 'We got a little ragged in the end of the third quarter and the fourth before we were able to get it under control.'
The third quarter has belonged to Dallas in the three previous games, but the Heat put an end to that and broke open the contest.
O'Neal scored nine points and Wade had eight as they raced to a 20-point cushion en route to 78-67 advantage into the final frame.
After Harris and O'Neal traded baskets to open the period, Walker drilled a 3-pointer and Wade hit three straight baskets for a 65-50 bulge. After Nowitzki made a free throw, O'Neal spun in for a power dunk, drew the foul and converted the three-point play.
On the ensuring play, O'Neal took a pass from Jason Williams and barreled in a for an apparent fast-break dunk. However, Stackhouse raced into to break up the play with a hard but flagrant foul that sent O'Neal flying. Tempers flared but were quickly quieted without any incident as Wade gave O'Neal a bear hug.
'It was a hard foul, I've taken hard fouls before,' said the 7-foot-1, 330-pound giant. 'I wasn't going to do anything foolish to disrespect my family or the organization.'
O'Neal made both foul shots and Wade followed with a pair of his own as the lead swelled to 72-52 with 6:23 left in the frame.
The streaky shooting Mavericks chipped away as Stackhouse scored the final two baskets in an 8-0 closing run to pull within 11.
Wade was a one-man wrecking crew in the opening half, torching the Mavericks for 24 points to give the Heat a 54-44 lead at the break.
'My main thing was to come out and give my team energy,' Wade said. 'As I scored early, the guys picked it up.'
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