Fever Pitch: Dallas makes the NBA Finals a Best-of-3 affair

Dirk delivers again
(image by Glenn James/Getty Images)

The White Knight returns. He’s hurting. He’s bloodied. He has a 101-degree fever burning inside him. But he ain’t quitting.

He’s winning.

It wasn’t a pretty win, but getting Game 4 was enough to remind all the Miami Haters that there is still reason to continue hating. Yeah!

Dirk's illness didn't stop him
from giving Miami some ill
(image by Robyn Beck/Getty Images)

Dirk Nowitzki’s dazzling postseason display hit a snag in the first 26 minutes of Game 4, but, as he has done time and time again, he delivered the goods in the clutch.

He was by no means his best self, nor his usually efficient self, throughout the match. He shot 6-19 from the field, turned the rock over thrice and got rejected twice, but you can throw all that away when you are chiefly responsible for squaring the series at 2 apiece.

But Dirk would do well to spread the love. The previous game reiterated the fact that the Mavs aren’t going to win just by way of the German gunner. He needs help, and, at least for this game, he got it.

JJ Barea started the game and hit some RIDICULOUS shots on the way to 8 points and 4 assists. Tyson Chandler and Shawn Marion combined for 29 points and 20 rebounds in the frontline, and the duo of Jason Terry and DeShawn Stevenson outscored the whole Heat bench, 28-15.

Good times.

And I sure hope there are more good times to follow.

I’d love for Dallas to win Game 5, because it’s going to be awfully tough to steal the title in Florida down 2-3.

LeBron is bound to break out
(image by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

And I smell a LeBron James monster game in Game 5. The self-made King has been letting the Flash run the show, but he’ll try to prove that he’s still relevant in the next outing.

Erik Spoelstra might as well have let James Jones or Dexter Pittman (who the hell?) play. Heck, if any of those guys played FORTY FIVE minutes on the floor, they’d have a fair chance of producing the same stats LeBron did. But like I said, I have an ominous feeling James is going to try his darn best to break out. And then Dallas will have hell to pay.

I hope not, but I just have that gut feel. It’s the same feeling you get when you wake up one morning and just feel it’ll rain – not because the clouds are dark and heavy, but because it hasn’t rained in a while and you just know it’s due.

But here’s me feeling Dallas can still pull off an upset for the ages. Here’s me hoping the golden oldies of Rick Carlisle still have enough for two more wins. Here’s me hoping Dirk can still regale us with his fever-pitch play.

Let’s go Mavs. 2 more.