Game Four: A New Hope (and a best-of-three series)

Last night as the buzzer sounded ending the fourth quarter, I could also hear the church bell in the steeple strike midnight in the distance, and I found myself musing "I wonder for whom THAT bell tolls." But we're far from the bell in this series. So far each team has simply "held serve;" the Mavs still enjoy the home court advantage, and with only three more games (at most) left to play, it's starting to become a war. Which is what NBA play-off basketball at its best is really all about. Remember, that Fat Lady you've heard so much about is a Valkyrie, and fans of Bob Duvall in "Apocalypse Now" know what THAT song sounds like in the wee hours of the morning. At the conclusion of next Sunday's contest, one of these fine teams is going to be facing elimation with their backs to the wall, while the other is going to be sitting in the catbird seat still needing one more win to take care of business and close things out. Aren't cliches wonderful? But cliches don't become cliches by accident.

The pressure is still on the Heat to win once more at home so that they can have a chance of breaking through and winning one in Dallas: something they haven't done all year. The Mavs likewise know that despite last night's humiliation they are still an excellent road team, and that win or lose Sunday the Heat still need to beat them in the Mavs own house in order to become the next champions. But the Heat also enjoy the momentum of a big win last night -- a game which finally gave the players who sit most nights at the end of the bench watching their teammates a few minutes of "garbage time" at the conclusion of a 24-point blowout. The Mavs only scored 7 points in the fourth quarter...a new finals record. And not a record anyone really wants to possess.

In any event, Dirk Nowitzki really struggled in Game Four (and was regularly mugged in the bargain): 16 points = 11-13 from the charity stripe and only 2-14 from the field. Jerry Stackhouse likewise got his 16 points the hard way, on 6-18 from the field and another 3 from the line. But his hard foul on Shaq will remain his most memorable contribution to the outcome of the game. Jason Terry scored two more baskets than Stackhouse on the same number of attempts for his 17 points, while Josh Howard (who was a bright spot for the Mavs in Game Three) was Missing in Action Thursday: a mere 3 points in 35 minutes.

For the Heat, Antoine Walker is still in love with the Trey, but at least last night he had the good sense to take them when they didn't really matter, and was a fairly respectable 2-6 from beyond the arc (rather than another deadly 0-5). Shandon Anderson played 19 minutes in his first appearance in the series, and made a sweet assist for a Shaq dunk that was pretty as poetry. Alonzo Mourning played well in extended minutes (thanks to Shaq's first quarter foul trouble), while Gary Payton kinda struggled and really didn't contribute much. Posey, Williams and Wade all enjoyed strong games, while Udonis Haslem also struggled with fouls and played limited minutes.

And now we're down to a three game series. Game Five tips off Sunday night: 9 pm Eastern time; 6 pm Pacific. Father's Day. I can hardly wait....