The NBA suspended Jerry Stackhouse for 1 game for his flagrant foul on Shaquille O'Neal during Thursday's Dal-Mia game. This is absolutely ridiculous. Sure it was a hard foul and definitely a flagrant 1, but in no way was it a flagrant 2 or deserving of a suspension. Maybe it's not just paranoia - maybe the league really does have something against the Mavs. I didn't have a problem with DJ Mbenga's suspension (whose suspension has now ended) or Jason Terry's suspension, but this is unbelievable. Avery Johnson moved the team from it's Miami hotel to a hotel 45 minutes away from the arena citing a lack of focus and vacation mentality by the team. Game 4: Dallas at Miami (June 15) The Mavs went with a lineup change in starting Devin Harris in place of Adrian Griffin. For the 3rd straight game, the Heat went directly to Shaquille O'Neal and he opened the scoring for the Heat (and for both teams) with a layup. A putback dunk by O'Neal gave Miami a 7-4 lead with 10 minutes to go, but Dallas scored the next 6 points (with a bucket by 3 different players) to go up 10-7 with 8:05 remaining. But 2 jumpers by Dwyane Wade surrounded a free throw by Dirk Nowitzki and the game was tied at 11-11 with 7:20 left. O'Neal picked up his 2nd foul with 7:35 to go and Udonis Haslem picked up his 2nd foul with 7:05 left and both sat the rest of the quarter. Dallas led 18-16 with 5:05 to go but a 3-pointer by Wade kicked off a 14-4 Miami run to give the Heat a 30-22 lead with 15 seconds left as Dallas shot a mere 2-12 FG (including 5 misses on 1 possession) during that span. Jerry Stackhouse did end the quarter with a 3-pointer. Miami led 30-25 after 1. Wade had 14 points in the quarter. A layup by DeSagana Diop pulled Dallas within 31-34 with 8 minutes remaining, but Miami then hit consecutive 3-pointers. A 3-pointer by Wade gave Miami their first double-digit lead at 45-35 with 5:30 to go. 4 straight points by Miami gave them their largest lead of the quarter at 50-37 with 3:45 remaining. Dallas did score the next 4 points and the game hovered around 10 points. Stackhouse again scored at the end of the quarter, this time with 2 free throws. Miami led 54-44 at the half. Wade had 24 points in the half. Dallas again had to feel lucky not to be down a huge margin after another poor 1st half. Dallas only shot 34% FG in the half (including 5-18 FG in the 2nd quarter) while Miami was hot in shooting 58% FG - fortunately they were cold at the line in shooting 8-17 FT. Devin Harris opened the 3rd quarter with a jumper, but Miami then went on a 14-5 run, capped by a 3-point play by O'Neal, go to up 68-51 with 7:05 left. On a break, James Posey passed to O'Neal and Stackhouse slammed in to O'Neal and was called for a flagrant. Antoine Walker also picked up a technical for talking smack to Stackhouse about the foul. Stackhouse hit the technical free throw and O'Neal hit the 2 flagrant free throws. Wade was fouled and hit both free throws to give Miami a 72-52 lead with 6:25 remaining. Jason Terry then hit a jumper and a 3-pointer to make it a 15-point deficit. An alley-oop to Haslem gave Miami a 78-59 lead with 3:40 to go, but they would not score again in the quarter in missing their last 4 shots and committing 4 turnovers. The Mavs were actually able to take advantage and scored the last 8 points of the quarter. Miami lead 78-67 after 3. Wade got a bucket, but Harris was able to convert a 3-point play to pull Dallas within 70-80 with 10:35 remaining. But then Dallas' shooting went from bad to abysmal. Dallas missed 3 shots and turned the ball over as Miami turned the ball over 4 times. O'Neal hit 2 free throws while Dallas missed 2 more shots and Posey nailed a 3-pointer to give Miami an 85-70 lead with 7:20 left. Harris hit 2 free throws with 6:45 remaining, but Dallas' brickfest continued and Miami scored the next 11 points to make it a rout at 96-72 with 2:05 to go. A bucket by Griffin with 1:50 left ended Dallas' 8:45 field goal drought. Miami won 98-74. The series is tied 2-2. It was a pathetic shooting performance by Dallas and a solid game by Miami. The Mavs were a miserable 1-11 FG in the last 6:45 of the game and scored just 4 points in that span. They only scored 7 points on 2-18 FG and 3-3 FT in the 4th (setting the Finals low for fewest points in a 4th and it was also the 2nd lowest in the 4th for any playoff game). And they weren't even able to get rebounds off of their many bricks in the 4th - the only offensive rebound for Dallas in the 4th quarter came with less than 30 seconds left in the quarter. As easy as it is to say it was a blowout, the problems again rested more with Dallas' play than Miami being superior. It was only a 10-point game early in the 4th (despite Dallas' poor play through 3 quarters) and the Mavs then missed on 2 good looks. But still, you simply have to hit some shots. Dallas did not shoot any where near 50% FG in any of the 4 quarters - 45% in the 3rd being their best. It was a nasty blowout reminiscent of Dallas' last game 4 (a blowout in Phoenix). For the game, Miami shot 51.5% (34-66) FG including 7-19 3-pointers and Dallas shot a team playoff record low 31.6% (25-79) FG including 3-22 3-pointers. Miami shot 23-36 FT and Dallas shot 21-27 FT - it was a more physical game than the previous 3 and the refs let a lot of contact go. Miami out-rebounded Dallas 48-36, but Dallas had the edge on the offensive boards due to their many more opportunities. Dallas out-rebounded Miami 11-6 on offensive rebounds, but 7 of Dallas' offensive rebounds came in the 1st quarter, including 4 on 1 possession. Miami again turned the ball over a lot, but Dallas didn't capitolize as much. Miami had 18 turnovers on which Dallas scored 15 points and Dallas had 14 turnovers on which Miami scored 21 points. The 74 points by Dallas was the team's lowest in any playoff game and the 24 point deficit was the 4th largest loss margin. As easy as it is to over-react (and that's very easy to do as I feel Dallas is the better team), the series is simply on course. Each game has been won by the home team. Hopefully that will change in game 5 with Dallas finally showing up for a full 48 minutes. Either way, we now know that the Championship will be won in Dallas. It's now a best of 3 series. Game 5 is Sunday at 8:00 on ABC. Miami again got a great performance by Dwyane Wade. Wade led the way with 36 points on 13-23 FG and 8-9 FT and had 6 rebounds and 3 assists, but he did turn the ball over 4 times. Shaquille O'Neal still hasn't had an explosive game, but remained solid with a strong double-double. He had 17 points on 6-8 FG and 5-10 FT, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks, but also turned the ball over 3 times in his 30 minutes. James Posey stepped up off the bench after Udonis Haslem got in to foul trouble. Posey had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Antoine Walker chipped in 14 points (only 11 shot attempts, which had to be more to Miami's liking (and Dallas' dis-liking)). Haslem had just 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 5 fouls in 18 minutes. He did have 2 steals, but also had 4 turnovers. Jason Williams was the only Heat player to really have a poor outing. He had 6 points including 1-5 FG and 6 assists in 31 minutes. Alonzo Mourning had 4 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 14 minutes. Gary Payton had 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 4 fouls in 19 1/2 minutes. Shandon Anderson saw his first playing time of the series - and was on the court in the middle of the game, not just at the end. He had 2 points on 1-4 FG and 5 rebounds in 19 1/2 minutes. Jason Kapono and Michael Doleac saw their first playing time of the series at the end of the game, but neither had any stats. You don't have much of a chance to win when 3 of your top 4 players combine to shoot a miserable 9-40 FG (that's 22.5% FG). If you remove Jerry Stackhouse's shooting, Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard combined to shot 3-22 FG (14% FG). Ouch. Nowitzki did tweak his ankle early in the 4th quarter, but he continued to play. He had 16 points on 2-14 FG, 1-5 3-pointers, and 11-13 FT and had 9 rebounds, 1 assist, and 4 turnovers in 41 minutes. Howard had just 3 points on 1-8 FG, 0-4 3-pointers, and 1-2 FT and 7 rebounds in 36 minutes. Stackhouse had 16 points including 6-18 FG and 1-5 3-pointers in 30 minutes. He also had 4 rebounds (including 3 offensive) and a team high 4 assists. Jason Terry and Devin Harris did try to spark the team some at points, but no one joined them. Terry had a team high 17 points (8-18 FG and 1-5 3-pointers), but didn't have an assist and had 3 turnovers in 33 minutes. Harris had 11 points (including 5 of Dallas' 7 4th quarter points) including 4-8 FG and 2 assists, but also turned the ball over 3 times. Adrian Griffin chipped in 6 points on 3-3 FG and had 6 rebounds including 3 offensive in 17 minutes. The centers weren't much of a factor in this game. DeSagana Diop had 5 points and 2 rebounds in 18 minutes and Erick Dampier missed his only attempt and had 4 rebounds and 5 fouls in 18 minutes. Keith Van Horn missed 3 attempts in 5 minutes and Marquis Daniels missed 2 attempts in 5 minutes. Desperate for something to click, Darrell Armstrong was inserted early in the 2nd quarter - it didn't help. Armstrong miss 2 attempts in 6 minutes, his first playing time in this series. And Josh Powell saw his first game time in the Finals in playing the last 3 1/2 minutes and he missed his only attempt and had 1 rebound and 2 fouls. Quotes Pat Riley: "We played very well. We played very well. We didn't turn it over in the 1st half and I think that's where you start, with your offensive efficiency. And we shot the ball well. I think we're getting a little bit of a handle on their plan for Shaquille and you know what they're doing. Our spacing is getting better. And, you know, but Dwyane had just an incredible 1st half. And we played well. I thought it was, you know, I mean, it was our best game, there's no doubt, of this series. And we got a little ragged at the end of the 3rd quarter, at beginning of the 4th, before we were able to get it, you know, back under control." Riley on the bench: "Bench was big. I thought Shannon did a great job, not playing. I told both he and Derek the other day, you know, the fatigue was beginning to show on Dwyane and some of our perimeter players, so just to be ready. And Pose did a great job making big shots and defending. You know, Zo. So, yeah. It's not a supporting cast. I don't look at it that way, you know. They're all pros. They've been around, and they know what to do. And we got great lift from them." Riley on dealing with the double-teams: "We spent a lot of time on it the last couple of days, just, you know, walking through the spacing over and over and over on our sets. And we haven't seen it, we didn't see it throughout any of the series that we played for almost 6, you know, 8 weeks, occasionally there was some double-teams. And they did a great job of coming with Dirk, at 7-feet, and we wanted to try to remove that obstacle a a little bit so. We moved some of the players around. But, the spacing was good. We weren't cutting as much. And, you know, but still, that, you know, being better. Dwyane, you know, sort of took care of the other half, you know, when we weren't playing well out of the post." Riley on O'Neal and the double-teams: "He's a passer. You know, he just sees it. He baits it. Like Shandon made some great baseline cuts. He's so smart, he's been playing with Karl Malone for so long. He knows how to cut. He made one cut, actually came to what we call the strong side of the double-team, and threw the lob to Shaquille in the 1st half. So, you know, Shaq just says, come on. He will say, come on. If we're making shots and making good cuts, then that will be a challenge for them, to keep doubling him." Riley on Stackhouse's flagrant: "It was a hard foul, absolutely. Yeah, so I just, you know, I just remember so many things going on. I don't know why I was running out there. [O'Neal] asked me, he said, 'Well, why did you come running out there, you thought I was going to go after him?' I said, 'No.' And I said, 'I don't know why I did it. I just did it.' I've been there too many times with, you know, with those things." Riley on the defense on Nowitzki: "He, they had 8 points in the 1st, I think, 4 or 5 minutes just driving the ball. Their game plan was to attack, isolate him at the high post, and he was just putting his head down. You know, we couldn't get a read on which way to push him, you know, as they were making cutters. And I think we got a better handle on it. Guys starting coming early to help. So, I mean, it's a commitment on the part of the individual to work, work him. And it's a commitment on the part of the team to be in the paint if he ever, you know, drops his shoulder and turns a corner." Riley on holding Dallas to 7 points in the 4th: "I don't know. Defensively, they are a great shooting team. They were, I think, I don't know what, 2-17, somebody told me, or whatever it was. They just missed a lot of shots. You know, our defense was very active tonight. It was very active tonight. We did not want to give them free throws and did not want to give them layups and jumpers. So, I mean, somewhere you got to sort of pick your poison. And as good a shooting team as they are, is that's what we're going to close out on, is we're going to close out on jumpshots." Riley on Wade: "He made a point the other night, you know we talk about this the number 50, how many times he gets, you know, touches. You know, so he actually had 49 the other night in the win. And I'm sure tonight he probably had a lot less, to be honest with you. But, you know, once Shaquille went out, we were going to put him in a situation, you know, with pick-and-rolls where he can make plays and keep the ball in his hands. It isn't any one thing that I call, but there's a series of things that we run when he's dribbling down the left side of the court that, you know, either be you get into a high pick-and-roll or side pick-and roll. But he pretty much controls that situation." Riley on if Stackhouse' flagrant should have been a level 2: "I thought it was a hard foul. I can't remember, I think James Posey got a flagrant 2 somewhere, or was it 1, against Chicago, I can't remember. It was a hard foul. It was the same kind of thing. So, I think Shaq is so big that it's pretty hard to knock him down like that. So, I'm going to leave it the way it is." Riley on O'Neal and Mourning contesting shots at the rim: "That's instinct on Zo's part. You know, he made 3 or 4 big blocks for us in the 1st half. And if they do get by, you know, the 1st line of defense and he's coming early, we just got to make sure that we're sinking to Dampier and Diop, you know, on offensive boards. But, yeah, that was a lot of contesting tonight at the rim. We need that against this team. We can not give them layups and jumpers and free throws. We have to take something away." Riley: "It was a big game for us today, you know. I mean, I think when you get to this time, it's 55 days now that we've been at this, as has Dallas. And there could be as many as 8 more days or less. And I think, you know, once you start to see the possibilities, we're both at 14 wins, we're both 2 wins away. I think it becomes as much will as it is execution, yeah." Riley on opportunities for Wade with Dallas doubling O'Neal: "Always. I mean, they're going to start breaking the defense down and rotating. They leave him open, too, you know, and they rotate him, off of the shooters, and stuff. So, you know, he's getting looks on the weak side where he can drive, you know, drive the basketball. So, we did not handle it well in Dallas. We just didn't play well in Dallas. We played, I thought, very well the other day until we got that 3rd quarter, you know, that was bad. And then today, we played our best game. So we need to have our best game on Sunday." Shaquille O'Neal on game 5: "It's a very important game for both teams. And, you know, we just want to, you know, keep doing what we've been doing at home. You know, tonight was, I think, our, you know, first complete game, so hopefully we can continue to play this well and hopefully we can keep it going." O'Neal on Riley: "I mean, he's been great ever since he, you know, came to my house in Orlando, you know, we had a couple conversations. And, you know, he told me what he was all about. I told him what I was all about. And I knew he was going to be a perfect fit. And, you know, he's a straight up guy, and I think he's straight up because he's upstairs and downstairs. What I mean by that, he's the general manager, the president, and the head coach, so he doesn't have to, you know, smooth, smooth anything over when there's problems. You know, he always handles the problems and, you know, fixes all the problems." O'Neal on when he knew Miami was going to win it: "Well, I knew at the, you know, beginning of the game. I told my guys that we played a lot of games this season where we needed to win, and this was a game that we really, really needed to win. And the guys came out and played well. The bench played well. You know, it was the best our bench had played all series. And, you know, we just have to, you know, do the same thing, and it's a different series right now." O'Neal on Stackhouse's flagrant: "My impression was my daughters tackle me harder when I come home. You know, I'm from, I'm one of the last players of the old school and, you know, you just have to, you know, take a hard foul like that and keep on moving. It actually felt pretty good to get hit like that. Thank you, Jerry. Appreciate it." O'Neal on passing out of the double-team: "You know, my guys are cutting to the basket. You know, they're spotting up, and they were really, really looking for me tonight, especially Gary. So, you know, I was trying to, you know, not really, you know, force shots. You know, keep hitting the open man. And, you know, tonight it paid off. You know, our bench really, really played well." O'Neal on his no-look pass to Posey: "I have that in my game." O'Neal on if his offensive game was one of the main reasons Miami had a dominating performance: "No, we're just, you know, playing good team ball. You know, the fans have been really, really great. Everybody's moving the ball. Everybody's really, really playing unselfish. You know, Dwyane had another fabulous game. And, you know, the other night, you know, was, you know, we willed our way to a win, you know, and we got a little bit of momentum. And we just want to keep it going." O'Neal on Miami's interior defense: "Yeah, you know, we just want to try to keep them out of the paint. You know, they're a very, very dangerous team. You know, you really can't give them both - you can't give them inside and outside. And, you know, they really miss a lot of shots and, you know, they're probably going to come really, really hard on Sunday. And we have to be prepared. And we will be." O'Neal on smiling when he got his technical: "You know that was the first time in history that I was polite and I got a tech. I mean, I was just, you know, trying to ask a question and, you know, he gave me a tech." O'Neal: "You know, whenever my team doesn't do well, I always, you know, take it on upon myself. I always say to myself, 'I could of done more.' I am programmed to do more, no matter what. Win or lose, I am programmed to do more. That's because I am the other son of Jor el, Superman." Dwyane Wade: "I mean, it's a series now, you know, it's 2-2, you know, the the way we knew it was going to be if we came out and played the way Miami Heat can play. A lot of people was doubting us and we thrive off that. We've been doubted all year. So, it's a series. So now it's the best of 3. And looking forward to the next game." Wade: "Man, Posey did an unbelievable job for us. You know, scoring and rebounding, just being active, you know, taking charges. That's what it's all about. You know, that's what the playoffs's about is guys coming in and stepping up. And give a lot of credit to Posey for doing that. But, yeah, everybody came off the bench. You know, Alonzo did an unbelievable job for us, been there for us down low to block shots. You know, it's team basketball, man, and everyone played good tonight. For the first time in this series we played good as a team. And we just want to continue to do that coming into Sunday." Wade on what Riley said to motivate: "If you ain't motivated in the Finals, man, it's nothing to be said. You know, that's what he said. He said, 'There ain't nothing I can say to motivate you guys.' We know we've got to play a lot better. You got to go out there and you got to want it. But there ain't no motivational speeches that can be said in the Finals, man. You got to go out and do it. And, you know, we understand that. We've got a lot of veterans on this team." Wade on if he's getting the ball more up top: "No, I'm probably the same. You know, I'm just in a rhythm. I'm a rhythm player, man. And first 2 games in Dallas, I was kind of off my rhythm. And now I'm in a rhythm now. So, I'm able to, you know, to look and see the defense, you know, come before it's coming and make my moves and, you know, pull up or attack. So, just seeing the, you know, game early now, and hopefully stay into that rhythm. And my teammates are doing a great job of spreading the floor and giving me the ball in the right spot so I can make, you know plays happen." Wade on if Miami is trying to be more physical with Nowitzki: "Well, I mean, you know, Dirk, he's 7-foot, man, you know, shooting fade away jumpers. I mean, only thing you can do is try to crowd him and make him take a tough shot. You know, we've got guys like Posey and Udonis is doing an unbelievable job of just trying to make him take a tough shot. So just crowding him and getting under him. And if he hit it, you know, take the ball out; but if he didn't, you did a great job defensively. So, give credit, you know, to Posey and Udonis for doing an okay job on Dirk, but still got a tough job ahead of them coming the next games." Wade on if Nowitzki is playing differently due to Miami's defense: "Na. I think, you know, the one thing, we're just not letting him get the ball in his sweet spot as they does in other playoffs series. They was kind of switching and letting him get in sweet spots. But our 2 guys are working very hard to not let him get in the sweet spots and making him work a little harder for it. And that's the only difference. But, you know, he's getting his shots, but, you know, they contest it." Wade on what O'Neal had to say after game 4: "Well, I think that - did he come in here yet? I'm sure he had some quotes for everyone to, you know, to listen to. You know, he, you know, he's back. I think he understands that, you know, this team needs him. We need his personality also. You know, when he's quiet, you know, the team kind of gets quiet. But when he's alive, we're alive. And, you know, he played excellent tonight, man, you know, for us tonight. And looking forward to more coming in the next couple of games." Wade on what Riley did to help Miami win the last 2 games: "Well, just showed us what we did wrong, you know, from one game to the next, what we can get better at. And just point out, you know, them things, like transition defense, we can get better at. We're still not doing a good job, you know, with turning the ball over, but that's one thing he said. And rebounding the ball was a key. And he knew that offensively we'd get it going eventually. So, justing point out, you know, the plays that we can get better at, we concentrated on that, and it's worked for us the last 2 games." Wade on his mindset when O'Neal went out early with 2 fouls: "Just to be more aggressive. You know, when he go out, you know, I take it upon myself to be more aggressive on the offensive end. But, you know, it really wasn't, you know, we just wanted him to get to the bench and get back in. We know Zo is coming in. And Zo do an unbelievable job for us, very underrated, especially on the offensive end does a great job of setting picks and getting, you know, rolls to the basket. So, you know, we don't lose too much, you know, when Zo comes in, we have another kind of, you know, player. And it works for us, man, we have best backup center in the league, so it works for us." Wade on if he was surprised Dallas didn't contest the outside shot as much: "You know, I think they said I can't shoot. That's what it was said, right, in game 1. So why would they contest my shots? I can't shoot. So, hopefully, you know, I'm going to continue to keep shooting the shots they're giving me and step up and make them. That's all I can do." Wade on Dallas saying he was exaggerating his injuries: "Na, I don't care. You know, I don't have to fake. You know, if I'm hurt, I'm hurt; if I'm not, I'm not. It's whatever, man. It's the Finals, you know, we're not best friends. You know, we can care less what they say and they can care less what we say, you know, until the Finals are over and then, you know. But right now, it's 2 teams out there going to battle vs each other, going to war, man. So, you know, it's whatever. Everybody knows I don't fake. You know, if I'm hurt, I'm hurt. Y'all seen what happen to me, I don't have to fake." Udonis Haslem on Miami's energy: "I mean, that's the reason we felt like we lost the 2 games. I mean, to take nothing away from Dallas, they played great. But we felt like when we play with a lot more energy and a lot more effort, then we can put ourselves in a lot better position in these next couple of games." Haslem on defending Nowitzki: "I mean, you know, tonight I got physical, got couple of fouls. But, you know, the main thing is he's such a great player that you don't want to never let off him. You want to stay up in him and try to make things as tough as you can for him. And that's what we were trying to doing. Pose came in and did a great job with me on the bench." Alonzo Mourning: "I don't know if its our best game. We can play better. The good thing about it is collectively everybody came and contributed and we were able to run away with a pretty good win. But, we're not satisfied. Obviously we have 2 more games to win and we know that they are going to gather themselves and play a little bit better on Sunday. So we got to be ready, we can't exhale. I mean tonight we can enjoy this one, but tomorrow we got to get back to work. We're going to come in and watch the film and do what we got to do to get ready for game 5. But today was a good win for us, it was a good win. A lot of it was, yes we had good offensive performances from guys coming in and contributing, but our defensive presence out there was what we hang our hats on. That's what we rely on to open those types of leads. The good thing about it is when you can go into the 4th quarter, and they made a run in the 3rd, you can go into the 4th quarter and hold them to 7 points. I don't know if that's a Finals record or not, but you got to credit our defense with that." Mourning: "They are a very potent offensive team; it's hard to figure out a potent offensive team because they can still hurt you. If they get going and they get open shots they can hurt you. So it's just a matter of us continually staying consistent with our game plan from a defensive perspective in hopes that alters their offensive capabilities. They rely on Dirk on getting them going and getting them off, they rely on that and they rely on Josh Howard, getting him going and getting him off. A lot of our focus is trying to take them out of that rhythm that they kind of get in. We know the rhythm and once they get in that rhythm its kind of hard to stop. And Jason Terry coming off those screens, you got to disrupt that, and the only way to disrupt it is with effort, energy, and defensive communication out there and I think we did a pretty good job." Mourning: "We are not concerned about who counts us out. We know where our strength lies and it's right here in this lockerroom, with y'all out of it. This is where our strength is and this is where we turn to for the strength we need to overcome the obstacles we are confronted with. We've done that all season long and all season long we've had doubters, we've had people shooting us down and some way we always find a way to come together and make it right, make it right, make it right, and continue to work and make things right and you got to credit everybody in here. Coaches, everybody doing what they have to do to prepare us and the guys doing what they have to do, watching tape, and preparing their bodies mentally and physically to come out there to play the game." James Posey on if what's in his lockerroom going to Dallas with him: "Na, it's going to stay here. But, it's just a reminder of what we need to get done here and something to stay focused on until we reach our ultimate goal." Posey on the bench: "I think everybody did a great job. You know, it was a great team effort. We came in just very aggressive on the defensive end. I think that opened up some things for us on the offensive end. You know, it was just big for everybody just to play together and continue to play hard." Posey on defending Nowitzki: "Just coming in, we just want to play him tough. You know, he's a great player. We know he's going to get a lot of shot attempts and things like that. We don't want to get into a comfort zone or get into his sweet spots. And just make him work for everything without fouling. And I think everybody that guards him, you know, do a great job for the most part." Posey on O'Neal's no-look pass: "Well, the big fella, he had it, you know, 3 feet away from the basket and I was 2 feet and, yeah, did I miss the dunk, but I guess I made my free throws." Posey on if O'Neal said anything to him: "Yeah, he did. He reminded me, he said, 'Make me look good.' So I apologized to him." Posey on Riley helping them come back from 0-2: "He's been here before. And it's just a constant reminder. When he talks to us, it's like he has the utmost confidence in us that, you know, we just have to continue to take it one game at a time. And, you know, you look in that huddle and you see the ring on his finger and that's even more motivation to go out there and get it done. And, you know, it's just that respect factor that he's been here, he's done it already, and we want to help him do it again." Posey on if it's getting physical out there: "I mean, you can look at it for the most part just from Stackhouse's foul on Shaq, but you know, it's the end of the season right now. You've got to leave everything out there. You know, you can't save anything. So both teams are going to go at it. Both teams are going to compete really hard. And it's just a matter of who wants it the most." Avery Johnson on the slow start: "Well we've been having tough starts this whole series. It's been uncharacteristic of our team. But again, you know, we're in a dogfight. We're playing on the road. We've been good on the road all year and we've gotten off to pretty good starts on the road, but not in this series. But, so, you know, we'll address it. Wade has hurt us in the worst way. We haven't been able to guard him. So we have 2 days now to go back and take a look at it, and we'll make some adjustments. But I've been telling you guys all along, this is a 7 game series." Johnson on if Dallas hasn't recovered since the collapse at the end of game 3: "Well, I don't know about not recovered. This is a mentally tough team that we have here. We've been mentally tough all year. You're talking about the same team that won game 7 in San Antonio against world champions. So, like I said all along, it's not always about what we don't do. Why don't you just give Miami credit for playing some balls-out defense and playing tough-minded and scrapping, and they are beating us to the punch. And we're not going to win many of our games when 2 of our better players go, you know, 3-22. So, again, give them some credit." Johnson on Miami's bench and Posey: "Well, you know, we've been doing a pretty good job with their bench, but Pose got it loose for a couple of shots there and he rebounded the ball well. And our bench has been a strength for us all year, and it still is. But again, we've held their bench down 3 out of the 4 games, but tonight, you know, Pose hit a few shots and it's a breakout game, so everything gets magnified." Johnson on rebounding: "Well, again, they are just one step quicker. This This is 2 games in a row where we haven't had anybody double-figure rebounding. So normally we at least have a center rebounding in double-figures or one of our front line players. But again, we're not getting there. We will get there. But it just didn't happen tonight." Johnson on if bad blood is developing between the teams: "I sure hope so, on my team's part. It's hard for me to watch some of this stuff knowing that I have such a recent history playing the game. You know, it's just hard. It's hard. So hopefully what happened tonight will light a little fire under our team. It's just really disappointing when the other team is pushing and, you know, we're not pushing back hard enough." Johnson on Miami's defense on Nowitzki: "Well, you know, they are wrapping him up. They are putting a blanket over him and he's going to have to get that blanket off of him. And, you know, we've had certain demonstrations of how to do it. Now it's just a matter of willpower. And Dirk is not satisfied. He's very disappointed. But again, this is a team game. Even if Dirk comes out and has big numbers - what did he have, 30 the last game - but we still lost. I think overall our team has to get it together and play better. And we haven't started well and really and truly, we haven't finished well. We had a 26, 27 point lead and really didn't finish well in game 2. But again, right now, it's a 3 game series and we've got to play much better in the next game." Johnson on if Nowitzki's poor game was due to himself or Miami: "I think it's a little bit of both. I think, you know, Haslem is roughing him up. Posey's playing physical. And again, right now, you know, in New York, you know, they call it Rutgers Park or whatever - is that right? [reporter: no 's'] Rucker, okay. Thank you, Peter. Where I'm from, you know, they call it Leemon playground. And a lot of times, that's what it is, because you can't expect anybody to bail you out. And I've tried to get a team that really don't complain, just play. But when we're complaining and we're not playing playground basketball, which it takes sometime even in the NBA, we are not going to get it done. And throughout this year, we've been doing that." Johnson on if Miami is getting a handle on Dallas' double-teams on O'Neal: "Maybe. Maybe they are. This is what a series is about. We've been doubling-teaming a certain way. Maybe they have figured it out. Now we'll try to see what works out best. Shaquille O'Neal is a player that still deserves a double-team in this league, and we have a lot of respect for his game. But just as much as Shaquille O'Neal deserves a double-team, we haven't found the right solution to deal with Wade yet, offensively or defensively. So that's an even bigger problem." Dirk Nowitzki: "Well, you know, you see when a team gets that confidence what they can do. You know, I thought we had game 3 under control, and then the last couple minutes we let it slip away. And next thing you know there, we had a series. And, you know, they played with a lot of confidence today. They made shots. They moved the ball well. Dwyane was great again. Shaq was a beast down there. So they had really everything going. Their role players made shots. So, they played a great all-around game. And on the other hand, we couldn't really get much going. A lot of shots were already down, came back out. And the bottom line is if you shoot 31% from the floor, you know, you're not going to win." Nowitzki on being out-rebounded: "Well, if you shoot 31% from the floor, you know, there are a lot more rebounds that they can get on the defensive end. So, I don't think the rebounding was that big of a key today. They did pound us on the glass pretty good in game 3 where they had a lot of 2nd chance points. But today, I don't think the boards were a big deal. You know, cause like I said, when you shoot 31%, there are a lot of breaks coming off that they can get." Nowitzki on Miami's defense on him: "Well, they've been doing it all series. They do a good job, you know, of getting into me and making me put the ball on the floor. And I had some good looks though, from especially early on in the paint. Even missed the putback layup. So, you know, I'm not really worried about my offensive game. So, just got to make shots." Nowitzki on how his body feels after such a physical game: "Same as a regular game." Nowitzki on Dallas scoring just 7 points in the 4th: "Well, you know, down the stretch, you know, when you're down 20 with a couple minutes left, you know, obviously you're desperate and you take 3s that are not really there. So, you know, obviously you've got to go out of your way a little bit to make some stuff happen when you're down that big. So, I mean, we just have to make shots. That's the bottom line." Nowitzki on tweaking his ankle: "I just came down on the foot, like it happens a lot in our sport. And it's no big deal." Nowitzki on Wade: "Yeah, obviously we can't give him 40 every game, you know. He's been really aggressive. Tonight, he looked really comfortable with his outside shot. He made a couple 3s early. He made a couple tough pullups, I thought. And he's been playing great. I mean, obviously, he adjusted to whatever we did in game 1 and game 2. And we all know they're a great home team. They only lost, whatever, 1 home game all playoffs long. So we knew that they're going to play a lot better than they did on the road. But, you know, we've got to find a way to slow them down a little bit. You know, get in to them more and still try to keep them out of the paint." Josh Howard: "It wasn't our best performance shooting-wise. We still had our opportunities, but for the most part, we couldn't put the ball in the basket. Most of our shots went in-and-out." Howard on if they've created a monster: "No, it's 0-0 right now. I mean, they here, they won their games, they got one other game at home, which is going to be a big test for us on Sunday, but right now we're fine. It's 0-0. But, we know what we've done wrong and we've got to get back to the drawing board again." Howard on if Dallas attempted too many outside shots: "Right now, I don't know. But for the most part, like I said, our shots just going in-and-out." Howard on if Miami's comeback in game 3 hurt: "As far as them, it probably gave them a lot of momentum. For us, we had put that behind us for the most part. We was ready to play. We weren't even worried about that." Howard on if momentum has shifted: "They're at home. It's supposed to be momentum for them, you know what I'm saying. Like I said, it's 0-0 right now, for me. I'm not thinking about no momentum or nothing." Howard on Nowitzki only scoring 3 points in the 2nd half: "The situation happened where the ball just wasn't going in the hole tonight. The guy was putting up shots, he got to the line, he was driving the ball. He just didn't get the shots that he wanted." Jason Terry on if they've created a monster: "I'm not really concerned about anything like that. We've just got to keep our mindset and stay focused at the task at hand. I mean, it's a 7 game series, you know, and you got to go 1 game at a time. You know, game 5 is a big game. You know, whether it was in Dallas or Miami, it just happens to be here in Miami, so, you know, game 5 is big." Terry: "Oh we had plenty of opportunities, man. A lot of balls went in-and-out. But at the same time, defensively we still didn't play the game that we're capable of playing. So watching the film we'll still be disappointed, but at the same time, eager to get back out here and get to game 5." Terry on what is said to teammates: "Well, you let everybody recollect their thoughts and then, you know, we'll get together tomorrow, have a nice practice, or what ever it may be. And, you know, just re-focus. You know, you just got to look in the mirror and see what you can to change this thing around." Jerry Stackhouse on his flagrant: "That's exactly what it was, it was a hard foul. I mean, he was going to the basket. You know, always want to, you know, in fact, when Shaq is going to the basket, we want to try to make him go to the free throw line and earn it. And, you know, just a hard play." Stackhouse on how to turn the series around: "Well, I think, you know, once we look at the tape, and I think, you know, we got the shots we wanted. We just didn't knock down shots tonight. Obviously they played extremely well. You know, they made they made all their shots. They made a lot of plays and had contributions from a lot of different guys. But, you know, when all that said and done, you know, we had cut the lead to 10. You know, I had a 3 that rimmed out, you know, may have possibly cut it to 7. Came right back down the next possession, Dirk had a 3 that, you know, was out. You know, and then, you know, with possibly a 4 point game right there. You know, the game got away from us a little bit after that, but I thought we fought hard to get back into the game and make it a game again, you know, in the end of the 3rd quarter." Stackhouse on Dallas' confidence level: "It's still high. It's still high because if we look at the shots we're taking. I mean, we're going to consistently live with the shots we get, you know. We know that we're better shooters, we're better percentage shooters than 31% as a team, you know. So we feel that we continue to get the looks, you know, obviously we've got to find a way. You know, our offense kind of, you know, fuels our defense. It should be the other way around, but that's how we've been all year. Our offense fuels our defense And when we're not able to be efficient offensively, we're not efficient defensively. So we've got to find a way to get our offense going and be able to, you know, knock down shots and get a smooth rhythm offensively. And I think that that will translate into us being a little better defensively. Obviously, I mean, you've got to give the guy credit again. You know, Dwyane Wade came out, and, you know, he jumped up and made shots on us, you know, with good defense. You know, Shaq was active again. And then they got contributions from Posey - who else? Posey was good. You know, Walker had a few baskets late. But, you know, that's who they are." Stackhouse on Nowitzki: "I mean, he had one of those nights. I had that one last night, I mean, 2 nights ago. I mean, where the ball, you know, didn't do what we wanted it to do. I mean, it was a little better tonight. I think, you know, once you have a game like we had last night where we were up, you know, you may have a little bit of a hangover. But I think, but hopefully we got that hangover game out of the way. You know, got a couple of days to prepare. Maybe, you know, step away a little bit, come back get, you know, have a little renewed energy Saturday, and, you know, come back. You know, they're at home. This is a tough place to win. This team has lost 1 game at home in the playoffs, and we are hoping that we can add 1 more to that total and put ourselves in a good position. And then this is a best of 3, you know, best out of 3 series right now, and it's the first one to get 2 games." Stackhouse on if he'd rather have just 1 day off instead of 2: "No, I think, you know, we'll let it be what it is. You know, it's 2 days, and like I said, we'll get a chance to step away for a day and not, you know, to have to have that hangover like we did last time. And then just come off fresh, I think that will be positive for us." Stackhouse on Miami's confidence: "I mean, at this point, I mean, playing at home, teams are going to be confident. I mean, We know that they are a dangerous team and they got 2 great players. But I think, we're still confident. You know, we had our best player have a night like he struggled tonight. All of us didn't play great tonight. And, you know, like I said, it was a 10, we fought our way back to a 10 point game and we had a couple shots that we missed, an opportunity to get even closer. Didn't work out for us. And now we just, we scrap this one up as a tough loss and get ready for Sunday." Erick Dampier: "You know, we have 1 more game here. Just go out there and give it all we got. And hopefully we'll come out with a win and just go home and try to take care of business." Dampier on if it is easier to put the game behind them because the shooting percentage was so bad: "I mean, some nights we're going to be off and, you know, some nights we're going to be on. You know, we're hoping more nights we're going to be on than off. Like I said, it wasn't the best shooting night for us. Even so, you know, we was within 10, we still think we were in position to try to at least win the game." Adrian Griffin on preparing for game 4: "We just have to wait until tomorrow, go over some film, and see what the coaching staff has planned for us. We've made adjustments all year. I'm sure well make some adjustments for Sundays game." Griffin on if Miami's comeback in game 3 gave them confidence: "I don't know. They definitely seemed like they played harder tonight." Griffin: "We still have one more game here, so all is not lost. If we win the next game, it's a whole new series. They took care of their business. We won 2 games at home, they won 2 games at home. Now, we just have to be ready for game 5." Griffin: "They're playing at home. They're playing with a lot of confidence. They're playing harder." Griffin on if the series is getting more physical: "I expected that. This is the Finals. It's supposed to be physical, so thats not anything abnormal." Griffin on if Dallas is confident they can win game 5: "Oh, definitely. No question. We've got game 5 here, and we're going to come out fired up. All is not lost. We've still got a lot of games to play." Griffin on if the winning the series is more daunting: "No. It's always going to be tough on someone else's court. But were capable of doing it." Game 4: Miami Heat 98, Dallas Mavericks 74 at Miami (June 15) 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - Final 2FG 3FG FG% FT% Miami 30 24 24 20 - 98 .574 .368 .515 .639 Dallas 25 19 23 7 - 74 .386 .136 .316 .778 Halftime: Miami 54-44 3rd Q: Miami 78-67 Technicals: 9:16 Miami defensive 3 seconds 9:16 2nd, Miami defensive 3 seconds 4:48 2nd, Shaquille O'Neal 4:18 2nd, Josh Howard 3:56 2nd, Antoine Walker 6:29 2nd Flagrant fouls: Jerry Stackhouse (level 1) 6:29 3rd Dallas defensive 3 seconds 11:13 2nd Refs: Bernie Fryer, Dick Bavetta, Mike Callahan Attendance: 20,145 (sellout) IL: DJ Mbenga (Dal, suspended), Wayne Simien (Mia) Miami Heat REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Antoine Walker 39 5-11 2-6 2-2 14 0-3 2 0 2 2 1 Udonis Haslem 18 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0-2 1 4 5 2 0 Shaquille O'Neal 30 6-8 0-0 5-10 17 3-13 3 3 4 0 2 Jason Williams 31 1-5 1-3 3-5 6 0-2 6 1 0 1 0 Dwyane Wade 40 13-23 2-5 8-9 36 0-6 3 4 4 1 1 Alonzo Mourning 14 1-2 0-0 2-2 4 1-6 0 1 3 0 3 James Posey 26 5-9 2-4 3-4 15 1-10 1 1 3 1 0 Gary Payton 20 1-2 0-0 0-2 2 0-1 1 2 4 0 0 Shandon Anderson 19 1-4 0-1 0-2 2 1-5 2 2 1 0 0 Jason Kapono 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Michael Doleac 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 48 34-66 7-19 23-36 98 6-48 19 18 26 7 7 Dallas Mavericks REB Player MIN FGM-FGA 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA PTS O-T AST TO PF STL BLK Josh Howard 36 1-8 0-4 1-2 3 1-7 2 1 4 2 0 Dirk Nowitzki 41 2-14 1-5 11-13 16 1-9 1 4 2 1 0 DeSagana Diop 18 1-1 0-0 3-5 5 1-2 0 0 3 0 1 Jason Terry 33 8-18 1-5 0-1 17 0-1 0 3 2 1 0 Devin Harris 28 4-8 0-0 3-3 11 0-0 2 3 3 0 0 Jerry Stackhouse 30 6-18 1-5 3-3 16 3-4 4 0 1 1 1 Erick Dampier 18 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1-4 1 1 5 1 1 Adrian Griffin 17 3-3 0-0 0-0 6 3-6 0 0 2 0 0 Darrell Armstrong 6 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Marquis Daniels 5 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0 Keith Van_Horn 5 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 Josh Powell 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1-1 0 0 2 0 0 Totals 48 25-79 3-22 21-27 74 11-36 10 14 24 6 3 patricia Go Mavs!