With just 14.9 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of Game 4, Dirk Nowitzki, 102 degree fever and all, drove to the basket for two of his team-high 21 points. The crucial bucket sealed the eventual 86-83 victory for the Dallas Mavericks as they even the series at two games a piece.
Once again, the Miami Heat carried the lead most of the game, but Dallas made yet another fourth quarter run. A run that would eventually secure Dallas a crucial Game Four victory as the Mavericks outscored Miami 21-14 in the fourth.
Nowitzki, appropriately with the fever, got a little extra help on this night. Jason Terry scored 17 points, Shawn Marion went for 16, and Stevenson added 11 for the Mavericks. Maybe most notable is Tyson Chandler, who complemented his 11 points with 16 rebounds, a few of which came in the final minutes and helped Dallas secure a lead they would not relinquish.
Dwyane Wade had 32 points for the Heat in a losing effort. Chris Bosh added 24 points as well, although most of those came in the first half. Lebron James struggled throughout and had one of his worst games of these playoffs from a scoring aspect. He did, however, manage to muster some box score balance with eight points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.
The Mavericks will get one last game in Dallas on Thursday night before the final game(s) of the series will face off in Miami.
Both teams did not shoot the ball particularly well in Game Four, especially from 3-point range. Miami went 2-for-14 from beyond the arc, while Dallas went just 4-for-18.
Dallas turned largely to their zone defense in the fourth quarter and it paid off in a big way for Rick Carlisle — holding Miami to just 14 points in the final period.
Game Five is Thursday night at 9 p.m. in Dallas.
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