LeBron James scored eight points, the first time in his career he was in single digits in a playoff game.
ESPN/ABC analyst Michael Wilbon noted that Jason Terry's much-criticized jibe that he wanted to see if LeBron James could guard him well for seven games proved to be spot on. James didn't have much of any offensive game in Game 4, and wasn't that much of a factor on defense in the fourth quarter. Terry scored eight in the final quarter.
DeShawn Stevenson had 11 points off the bench, but came periously close to being a goat. With 1:53 left and the Mavericks up 82-78, he committed a huge blunder by fouling Chris Bosh, who was going up for a jumper with Dirk Nowitzki guarding Bosh. Bosh hit both free throws to cut the Maverick' lead to two.
On the Mavericks' ensuing possession, he twice missed 3-point attempts, negating great offensive rebounding by Tyson Chandler.
Magic Johnson says on the ESPN postgame show that if LeBron James doesn't find his offensive rhythm "the Heat has a chance to lose this series, not just the game on Thursday, even going back to Miami."
Wilbon said this was a game the Heat essentially squandered, wasting a great performance by Dwyane Wade (32 points, 13 of 20 shooting, two blocks, two steals).
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