It was a great performance by the Boston Celtics in Sunday's Game Four against the Heat, a game where the Celtics had the opportunity to close out the series and earn the franchise's first four-game sweep since a 4-0 sweep of the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1986 Eastern Conference finals.

That statement, however, comes with a major disclaimer - it does not include the first 17 minutes of the game or the final three minutes.  Otherwise, Boston outscored Miami 50-24.  

Unfortunately for the Celtics, the Heat outplayed the Celtics in every way possible during those two spans and it was enough to allow Miami to win the game 101-92 and live to play another day.  With the win, Miami forced a Game Five to be played Tuesday night in Boston.

Knowing Miami would come out of the gates with energy and throw everything they had at the Celtics, Boston decided it would be better not to show up.  In the game's first 17 minutes, the Celtics turned the ball over 11 times, mostly of the unforced careless variety, and trailed Miami 43-25 with seven minutes left in the second quarter. 

Even Quentin Richardson decided he would give, for him, his best effort early in the game, sparking the Heat with three three-pointers in the first quarter.  Dwayne Wade, who we will talk more about in a moment, had 14 in the first quarter. 

But, Boston dug itself out of that 18-point hole and actually had a six-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Here, I will give credit to Heat coach Erik Spoelstra - seeing the game starting to slip away, with Boston finishing the third quarter on a 22-9 run, he decided against sitting Wade to begin the fourth as he normally does.  

Wade would then reward his coach's decision.  The word "dominate" is not strong enough to describe how Wade played in the fourth quarter.

He personally outscored the Celtics in the game's final 12 minutes, 19 to 15.  Of those 19 points, Wade knocked down four three-pointers. He scored his team's first nine points of the quarter and hit a three to reclaim the lead for Miami 79-78, a lead the Heat would grow to 11 at 93-82.  

When he knocked down a free throw at the 5:17 mark to extend Miami's lead to 94-85, he had scored 21 of his team's last 27 points. He finished the game with a personal playoff-best of 46 points.

But even with Wade channeling memories of Micheal Jordan's record setting 63 points in a playoff game (and had this game gone double overtime, I am certain Wade would have made a run at 63), the Celtics still had plenty of chances to win the game and end the series.

Trailing by 11 with less than six minutes to play, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, and Michael Finley each hit three-pointers to bring Boston within five, 96-91 with three minutes to play.

From then on, though, Boston would simply self-destruct.

Allen went to the free throw line with a chance to cut into the lead even more. He knocked down the first free throw, but then the career 90-percent free throw shooter, missed the second one.  The Heat lead stayed at four, 96-92.

Rondo then missed a lay-up, but the Celtics got the ball back and Allen would again go to the line.

Inconceivably, he missed them both.

Between Rondo's missed layup and Allen's three missed free throws, the Celtics easily could have had the lead, but instead trailed by four. 

Michael Beasley then had one of those rare moments in a game where he decided to hustle.  He played the role of Lorenzo Charles to Dorell Wright's Derreck Whittenburg, as he put in Wright's air ball, pushing the Miami lead to 98-92 with 1:30 left. 

Boston would again shoot themselves in the foot.  Finley missed a wide open three, and then Kevin Garnett, who had played his best game of the series with 18 points and 12 rebounds, missed two free throws.

For those keeping track, that is five consecutive free throw misses in the game's final three minutes by the Celtics.  Through three quarters, the Celtics were 14-19 from the line, but were a miserable 2-8 in the fourth quarter. 

Wade and Richardson would make free throws to seal the win and send the series back to Boston.

What now?

Well, typically when a player of Wade's caliber has a game like he did today, you might just tip you cap but also shrug it off.   Wade is going to have his moments and you could argue it took Wade's Jordan-esque performance for the Heat to win.

No way he can do that three more times, let alone three straight times.

The only problem with that thinking is that while Sunday was Wade's best game of the series, the Celtics have been unable to stop Wade in any of the seven meetings between the two teams this year.

Wade's scoring has gone up in every game of the playoff series, where he is averaging 33.5 points on 60-percent field goal shooting. Yes, that is correct - 60-percent shooting from a guard.  For the season against Boston, Wade is averaging 33.5 points on 56-percent shooting.

In fact of Wade's four forty-point games this season, two have come against the Celtics.  

Then, there are the Celtics themselves.  There were doubts too many to list about this team entering the playoffs.  They have shown a different level of intensity thus far in the playoffs, and they are still leading the series 3-1, but I can't shake the feeling that if any NBA team can blow a 3-0 lead, it may be the 2009-10 Celtics.

Prove me wrong Celtics, and end this on Tuesday night.  

Notes

I have just one note after today's game, and it is more a question than a note: How can the Heat continue to play Jermaine O'Neal and along similar lines, how can the Celtics continue to play Rasheed Wallace?  Is there some contest between Doc Rivers and Spoelstra to see which team's big man can be less effective?

O'Neal has been legendarily bad this playoff series, shooting just 17.6 percent from the floor, but starts every game even though the Heat are clearly a better team with Udonis Haslem or Joel Anthony on the floor. 

Wallace meanwhile continues to amaze with his complete lack of ability to do anything positive on the court.  After a disappointing regular season, Wallace has actually been worse in the playoffs.

In Game Two, where the Celtics won by 29 points, Wallace was somehow a minus-12 in terms of plus/minus.  Today, in Game Four, Wallace, in only 11 minutes, managed to be a minus-20.  Minus-20.  

Plus/minus is not the best measuring stick in basketball, but the plus/minus is only the tip of the iceberg in beginning to explain just how bad Wallace has been in the post-season.

Doc, get him out of the game because at some point, I have to assume Spoelstra will stop playing his abomination in O'Neal.

MIAMI – Dwyane Wade(notes) wasn’t ready for his season to end. Not now. Not as long as he could help it. He lifted his Miami Heat with a scintillating 46-point performance, extending their playoff lives for at least a couple more days. This could have been his final game as a Heat in Miami, and he played like it.

One final epic performance for his loyal fans?

Not if you listen to one of Wade’s former teammates. If Wade looks deep within himself this summer, his free agency could be as short-lived as the Heat’s stay in the playoffs appears to be. No matter whether the Heat win Tuesday to force a return trip to the American Airlines Center, Wade figures to find several reasons to come back next season.

“Follow your heart, man,” said Alonzo Mourning(notes), the Heat’s longtime former center. “I know that his heart is here. Follow your heart, and everything else will take care of itself. You can just trust that [president] Pat Riley and [owner] Micky Arison because of the position we are in and the flexibility we have. I think we have the most attractive situation for a free agent. You got to trust and know that Pat is not going to sit around and wait. He’s going to build a contender here. I think [Wade] knows that.

“He has a relationship with Micky and Pat. If your heart is into your organization and this town, you have to trust that the front-office basketball operation is going to do everything possible to make sure we get back to that championship recognition.”

Even in victory, Wade’s performance Sunday showed just how much work the Heat have ahead of him. He scored 30 points in the second half and finished with the most in the franchise’s playoff history, and it was just enough to nudge the Heat into Game 5.

Wade might be growing tired of waiting for Michael Beasley(notes), the No. 2 pick in the 2008 draft, to reach his potential. Jermaine O’Neal(notes) is long past his prime and struggling against Boston. Everyone else on the Heat is a role player, at best.

Make no mistake: Unlike Wade’s All-Star contemporaries, he is a one-man band in Miami. That should also change this summer. The Heat will have enough salary-cap room to lure Chris Bosh(notes), Amar’e Stoudemire(notes) or Carlos Boozer(notes) along with another key player this summer.

Wade has said he would likely see what the Heat add before he decides to re-sign. Wade’s hometown Chicago Bulls haven’t helped their recruiting pitch, sources close to Wade said, when they showed the level of their front-office dysfunction after team president John Paxson physically confronted coach Vinny Del Negro. Mourning remains confident Arison and Riley will quickly do what’s needed to keep Wade.

“You got a professional organization, a great owner and chairperson in Micky Arison,” Mourning said. “Pat Riley, he runs a very well-structured, professional organization. Everybody does a tremendous job making sure the players and the families get everything they need. The players don’t have to do nothing but focus on the basketball court. It’s a truly good experience. It really is.

“I can’t think of a better working environment based on the other two organizations I’ve played for, not taking anything away from the [Charlotte] Hornets and the [New Jersey] Nets. But I’m a little bit biased because this is a championship organization that has proven that it takes care of its players. The success of the organization speaks for itself.”

While the Heat are widely considered to be front-runners to keep Wade, they aren’t taking anything for granted. And Game 4 carried all the emotions of a franchise star who might be playing in front of his home crowd for the final time.

Wade’s mother, Jolinda Wade, and movie star girlfriend, Gabrielle Union, were in the stands, and Wade delivered them a thrilling performance. He threw down a dunk on Boston’s Kevin Garnett(notes), finished a reverse double-pump dunk and even had cause to yell at his torrid shooting hand after making five 3-pointers. Nineteen of his points came in the fourth quarter.

With 24 seconds left and Miami up 99-92, Wade walked around the court waving his arms to the fans to get louder. They should’ve responded by giving him a standing ovation instead.

“The way he played tonight just basically willed his team to victory,” Celtics forward Paul Pierce(notes) said. “He just put it all on his shoulders. He did a good job of it.”

Said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra: “We don’t take Wade for granted. Right now when his back is against the wall that’s what I call defiance and stubbornness. It would be so easy for us to just quit and lay down.”

Wade said he didn’t think about it possibly being his last game with the Heat in Miami. His only motivation was keeping the Heat’s season alive.

“Whenever you feel like your back is against the wall, something happens,” Wade said. “I know a lot of people expected us to just roll over and give them the series because they’re up 3-0. That weighed heavily on my mind. I just wasn’t ready for the summer yet.”

Like Wade, Pierce has played his entire career with one franchise, and he sees the value in it. Both also have won championships within the past five seasons, and that’s why Pierce can’t see Wade leaving Miami.

“He understands what he has here,” Pierce said. “It is tough to leave a place where you won a championship, where it all started for you. I think he really values that. He’s definitely made this his home. It’s going to be tough for him to leave. Even though he is carrying the team night in and night out and doesn’t have the supporting cast anymore to be a contender, it’s really going to be tough for him to leave because of the foundation he’s built here so far. I think he’s going to be here for a very long time.”

Jordan choisit Wade pour porter sa chaussure anniversaire

Michael Jordan a sélectionné Dwyane Wade pour porter l’Air Jordan 2010 lorsqu’elle sortira en février.

 

La chaussure marque le 25ème anniversaire de la ligne de chaussures de basket Nike.

“Heureux, car je sais ce que signifie non seulement de faire partie de Jordan Brand mais de représenter vraiment Michael sur le parquet dans la chaussure qu’il porterait,” a déclaré Wade.

“Très heureux.”

La chaussure coût 170 $ et sera lancée à l’échelle nationale le 13 février.

“Parfois vous devez passer le flambeau. ... Il incarne ce que représente la marque,” a déclaré Jordan mercredi soir.

“C’est un joueur de notre communauté à Chicago, il a gagné des titres déjà, son éthique de travail... ces choses sont toutes les choses que j’ai envie de représenter dans la marque. Je crois que nous pouvons construire une grande relation.”

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