Really, the header on this post should be "Dwayne Wade 46, Boston 92." Flash was a one-man show in the fourth quarter on Sunday, pulling his team out of a six-point hole with 19 points in the period, 17 in the first six minutes. There's not a whole lot you can do when Wade is going like that, although Boston could have done more: Getting a hand up on his three-pointers, trying Tony Allen on him instead of Ray Allen, double-teaming like they did in the second half of the quarter to good effect. Fortunately for Boston, it's unlikely that Wade, as good as he is, will be that good often enough over the next three games to steal this series.
The bad from Sunday: Something like nine first quarter turnovers; three first half fouls apiece on Ray and Paul Pierce; a second straight scoreless game from Kendrick Perkins; falling behind by 18 points in the first half; losing a fourth quarter lead after coming back from 18 down.
The good from Sunday: Being in a position to win the game despite everything in the previous paragraph.
Really, we would've been right there had Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett -- career 89.4 percent and 78.5 percent career free throw shooters, respectively -- missed five straight from the stripe in the fourth quarter, amidst a crowd of Heat fans wielding noisemakers that sounded something like cicadas. We can probably count on that not happening again.
Game 5 is back in Boston Tuesday night. Most of the country won't see it, however, as it's on NBATV. I'm not worried, but I would very much like to close the Heat out right now.
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