For two days, there was a sense that the Miami Heat's championship aspirations of a Dynasty was fading from view. Should the Heat not comeback from such an embarrassing defeat, the question would arise about their future. Where will Lebron go next year? Will Chris Bosh get traded? What will become of the roster? It seems that the epitaph of the Heat's run was being written before Game 5 was set to begin.
Lebron, Wade and Bosh along with the supporting cast needed to respond. It was another test to their mettle. Time after Time, they have been written off and have resoundingly shown resilience in the face of adversity. Will Tonight be any different?
Tonight, they proved once again that they will not go into that gentle goodnight and showed us why at one point, why they won 27 straight games this season. It was a vintage performance by the Big 3 and the supporting cast. They presented a much better effort on the defensive and offensive side.
They trapped, disrupted and forced the Spurs sterling offensive movements into unforced errors. As a team, the Heat forced the Spurs to commit 17 turnovers and fueled the dormant Miami fast break. They set out to minimize the effectiveness of the Spurs three point shooters. There were bodies crashing the boards and tipping the ball out to friendly teammates wearing black and red.
Dwayne Wade was vintage Wade. He was spry, aggressive and showed flashes of the 2006 NBA Finals that led to his first NBA ring. Wade slashed and made a dunk that was just plain vicious in the 4th Quarter over hot shooting Gary Neal. Perhaps it was too early to write his obituary as an elite player in the league. His 32 points helped shoulder the load for Lebron and the Heat.
Not to be outdone, Chris Bosh showed up and played great defense. Bosh blocked shots and rebounded with vigor. His efforts on the defensive end, were rewarded by Wade and his teammates who were feeding Bosh with buckets near the rim. Bosh finished with 20 and 13 along with 2 blocks.
Lebron was back to being classic Lebron James with a 33 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assist game. Lebron was a defensive hawk who jumped passing lanes to set up the Heat fast break. From the first minute and till the final buzzer, he played with determination in making sure the series would be tied heading into Sunday. He tipped the 50/50 balls to teammates, found the open man for big shots. Most notably on the fast break making a fantastic pass to Ray Allen for a wide open three shot that gave the Heat breathing room as the Spurs were making another run to chip away at the Heat's lead.
Topping it off, Lebron went on to make three shots in the final seconds with the game well in hand. Was it vindictive? To some, it will be a matter of topic in the days ahead, but to Lebron, it was perhaps his way of sending a message to those who criticized his passivity two night previously.
The Heat's shooting stroke returned, as Ray Allen scored 14 points. Mike Miller was Mike Miller with his shooting along with flashes of good defense. Mario Chalmers made two timely three point shots in crucial situations in the second half.
As for the Spurs, they must regroup and make the necessary adjustments, which they will make heading into Game 5. The minimization of turnovers is an absolute must if they want any chance of winning. They must get better production from Splitter and Manu who made some questionable decisions with the ball that led to damaging turnovers.
How both teams respond on Sunday, could decide how this series ends in what has become a chess match between two of the best teams in the NBA this year.
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