Another Miami Meltdown

Three key story-lines sum up the Mavericks 86-83 victory over the Heat in game four of the NBA Finals, forcing the series to be tied at two games.

1. Dirk Nowitzki has shown how tough he really is. Fighting a fever of 102 degrees, Nowitzki scored 10 of his 21 in the fourth quarter and hit clutch free throws along the way in order for the Mavs to win another game from behind in this postseason.

2. 8 points from "King" James. James's disappointing finals series continues.

3. Luckily Dwyane Wade is not a wide reciever for any NFL team. Dropping a last second inbounds pass cost the Heat a chance at a good shot to force overtime and instead put the hopes of a city on an unexpected hero, Mike Miller. Miller, who did hit 2-5 from the three-point line completely air-balled the last second shot, causing the Dallas fans to have a prideful morale that was just as high as Nowitzki's fever.

Although this was an exciting game, with a stellar finish, once again the Heat blew a crucial fourth quarter lead. At one point during the final period, Miami had a nine point lead (74-65) only to watch it vanish like USC's 2005 BCS Championship. An even more sour fact is that the team did not even score for over six minutes. Here is a team that has Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh and they cannot get a one single point in the span of six minutes? No team, no matter who it consists of, deserves to win with that biting statistic.

There were some positives for the Heat in its lost. For one, Wade and Bosh both had solid games (32 for Wade with two outstanding late game blocks, and 24 for Bosh). Mario Chalmers also had another solid game with six assists. However, if James cannot produce, the Heat's chance to win pummels, and game four simply shows it.

Game 5 is on Thursday night and obviously it is a must win for the Mavericks, but more importantly James has to show that he can be a closer.