Full-Court Press

Dirk's big move makes it 84-81, 14.4 seconds left

"He's going too early!" ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy exclaimed as Dirk Nowitzki launched his drive against Udonis Haslem for what would become a layup and an 84-81 Dallas Mavericks lead with 14.4 seconds to play in Game 4.

Dwyane Wade got over to defend a little late.

Miami timeout, and inbounding up the court.

Wade goes for the layup and hits with 9 seconds left, making it 84-83 in Dallas' favor.

 

Mavericks on a 15-4 run

Tyson Chandler hits 1 of 2 from the line to give the Dallas Mavericks an 80-78 lead with 4:36 in a classic NBA Finals game.

The Mavericks' run answered a 13-1 haymaker the Heat had thrown.

But a great coaching adjustment out of a timeout by Rick Carlisle and a big step-up from Jason Terry, who is handling the ball more and more at the point and finding Chandler free down the lane. Terry has 15 points and three assists in the game.

Miami comes out of the timeout by making its sixth turnover of the fourth quarter.

Wade with greatest sequence yet

Dwyane Wade at the 7-minute mark of the fourth quarter  makes a spectacular block of a shot Tyson Chandler took on a great pass from Dirk Nowitzki, then makes a spectacular bucket on the other end to rob the Dallas Mavericks of points and  momentum.

Dirk Nowitzki ended a 1-for-11 shooting tailspin with a bucket and has the last six points for the Mavericks to keep the Mavs within reach at 78-75. Dirk has 17 points on a night where he's struggling with his health.

13-1 Miami Heat run, 9-point lead

Miami goes on a 13-1 run spanning the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter to punch out a 74-65 lead. The Mavericks missed four 3-point attempts, all makable.

Jason Terry comes out of the timeout with a much-needed drive to the bucket.

Then he comes right back with another basket after a LeBron mistake, prompting a Miami timeout.

Dirk not feeling it, Wade hotter than a firecracker; 69-65, end of third quarter

Dirk Nowitzki has a 102-degree fever, ABC says, and Dwyane Wade is the Big Heat. His alley-oop jam pushed the Miami Heat to a 67-64 lead with 2 minutes left in the third quarter.

Tyson Chandler's free throw stops an 8-0 Miami run and makes it Miami 69, Dallas 65. Limiting the Heat's scoring sprees is crucial.

The Mavs seem to be hanging on by their fingertips with Dirk illing. Dirk, who had a towel draped over his head while he sat out, missed a  3-pointer on a good look from the right side to end the third quarter.

Dallas in jeopardy.

Midway through the third, J.J. Barea has emerged

J.J. Barea is finessing the ball into the hoop, and he  has eight points on 3 of 9 shooting.

But Dwyane Wade will not cool his jets. Nor will Chris Bosh. Wade's beautiful, step-back long two-pointer gives Miami a 60-59 lead over the Dallas Mavericks midway through the third quarter. A classic battle so far, in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

Wade nd Bosh combined are 17 of 29  from the field, the rest of the Heat is 6  for 23. LeBron James is 1 of 6. Wade has 20 points, Bosh 22.

Dirk Nowitzki has but 10 points, and is showing furstration at not getting foul calls on drives to the rim.

First half: Heat 47, Mavericks 45

Dallas homeboy Chris Bosh has 16 points, hitting 8 for 12 from the field. His bucket with a minute left in the half gave Miami a 45-43 lead.

He was 5 for 5 in the second quarter, ABC reports.

J.J. Barea has to get in touch with his inner leprechaun. The magic touch he showed  against the Lakers and the early part of the Thunder series has deserted him. He has had the looks, and has driven to the rim, but hasn't finished except for one acrobatic bucket.

But this just in. Miami is good, and Miami has depth. Mike Miller, Joel Anthony and Mario Chalmers have had their moments. Dwyane Wade continues to be MVP.

LeBron James is not into the game offensively. Maybe he's conserving energy to reverse his much-scrutinized fourth quarter stats. He has only four points.

Dirk Nowitzki has eight points on 4-of-10 shooting, as the Heat has tightened down on  defense. Dirk may be running a bit low on energy.

Stevenson's 3s keep Mavs in touch

DeShawn Stevenson stopped a 7-0 Miami run with a couple of 3-pointers, a nice answer for him after he was knocked out of a starting spot.

But Chris Bosh was running the Mavs and Dirk Nowitzki ragged and helped give Miami a 34-29.

Stevenson hits another 3 from the corner with 6:10 left in the second half to cut Miam's margin to 34-32. Jason Kidd's return to the lineup has the Mavericks back in a better structure. A hully-gully pace probably doesn't favor the Mavericks, who want to run but not while playing catch-up.

Nowitzki ties the game 34-34 with his first basket since his opening salvo of three buckets.

Stevenson's nine points a huge bonus.

First quarter: Mavericks 21, Heat 21

The Dallas Mavericks are in a flat-footed tie because the Miami Heat shot 29 percent (7 of 24) from the field in the first quarter, countering the Heat's 16-10 cushion on the boards.

Jason Terry, responding well from a shaky Game 3, leads the Mavericks with 7  points.

Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade each had 6 points, before Bosh started the second quarter with four big points to put the  Heat ahead 25-21.

 

Mavs getting killed on offensive boards, but Heat not capitalizing

The  Miami Heat had 16 offensive rebounds in its Game 1 victory, way too many.

In Game 4, with about 2 minutes to play, Heat already has nine offensive boards. But the Heat is shooting only 7 of 22 from the field  and the Dallas Mavericks lead 17-16.

It's easy to say Dirk Nowitzki should be blocking out better but the man only has so much energy to expend.

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle inserted the physical Brian Cardinal in the rotation  instead of substituting Peja Stoyakovic midway through  the first quarter, maybe toward injecting a more physcial presence.

Starting J.J. Barea over DeShawn Stevenson seemed to have  the desired result, allwing the Mavericks offense to get off to a better start. But some maybe too-risky turnovers from Jason Kidd negated some of the benefit.

Nowitzki had  the  first six points of the game, a good sign after  his slow start in Game 3. The poor first quarter, particularly allowing a 7-0 Miami blitz to end that quarter, is what cost the Mavericks in Game 3.

Brendan Haywood, whose status  and stamina remain in question, entered the game late in  the first quarter after  he was inactive in Game 3  with a strained hip flexor.