Playin' with Fire

With under 6 minutes to go, the Heat's season looked to be getting blacker. Everything was starting to collapse. The Heat was being stifled of valuable oxygen, what it needed to combust - and the culprit was mostly themselves.

Then Dwyane Wade happened.

Faced with 5 fouls and a banged up left knee, after a collision with Alonzo Mourning, Wade took his entire Heat team and the city of Miami on his shoulders and ripped out the heart of the Mavericks. He did this because that was what was needed to be done. It was the only way for the Heat to win this game.

The Heat were reeling. They had 20 turnovers. They were missing shots and misfiring, once again, on offense. This time, it was a little longer till the Heat collapse - it came after the half - but the collapse did come. Up by 9 after the half, the Mavericks came out in the 3rd quarter and dropped 34 on the Heat, who answered with a meek 16 points.

And like that, the Miami fans were silent and the Mavs were getting ready for their coronation ceremony. Yet, as quick as it went from a series of 3-0 it went to 2-1. Wade's 42 points, when the smoke cleared, had everything to do with it.

Wade was the only one who could lift this team up. He may be the only one in this series capable of taking over multiple times.

It was the type of performance that evoked old #23 for Chicago. In fact, his teammate, #33, said after the game that this was eerily similar to an MJ performance. Wade gave it all he had, Scottie - that is for sure.

What was particularly amazing about the Heat's rally behind Wade was how it changed the Heat within the game. They outscored the Mavericks 30-19 in the fourth, answering for their third quarter disappointment. They got amazing performances from unlikely places, too.

Shaq hit both free throws at a crucial stretch - earning the nickname, The Big Freethrow.

Haslem, with a blown up shoulder hurting each time he lifts his arms over his head, sank both of his free throws after missing all of his previous attempts.

Posey hit a key three pointer and even drew some free throw attempts from a defensive foul on the Mavericks.

Gary Payton, perhaps forgotten in this series, finally decided to show up and make some noise. He faked a three and stepped within the line to hit a jumper from the wing to put the Heat up 97-95.

The Heat made their amazing comeback with the lineup of Williams, Wade, Posey, Haslem and Shaq. They focused on defense and getting defensive stops. They got the ball to Wade who lead the charge scoring 15 points in the 4th quarter - half of the Heat's total points in that time frame.

Not exactly what was meant by 15 strong, but we'll take it.

The Heat played with fire. Dwyane Wade drew his 5th foul with just under 11 minutes to play in the fourth quarter. They amassed 20 turnovers. Dwyane Wade, on his free throw shots at the end of the game, looked like he missed the second on purpose - in the hopes of securing the rebound with 1.3 seconds left. That lead to the Mavericks inbound where they tossed up a lob pass for Josh Howard to catch in front of the rim - but Wade was there to out leap Howard and tip the pass away to secure the win.

And the series may not look the same again. In less than 6 minutes, everything changed. The Heat gave themselves a win and lots of hope.