The Next Michael Jordan?
Posted on June 14th, 2006 by
What a game today: Shaq makes two clutch free throws, Gary Payton makes his first basket of the NBA finals, Dirk Nowitzki misses the game tying free throw, and Wade was absolutely phenomenal. He scored 42 total points in the game including 15 in the fourth quarter, eleven of those minutes he played with five fouls… Not only that, but Wade also ruined Dallas’ last chance to tie things when he knocked away the alley oop pass intended for Josh Howard. Damn… The next Jordan? We’ll have to see how the rest of the series goes…
Gary Payton picked the absolute perfect time to make his first bucket of the NBA Finals, and Dirk Nowitzki picked the worst time to turn into Shaq at the foul line.
Payton calmly nailed a 20-foot jumper with 9.3 seconds left to break a late tie, and Nowitzki missed a foul shot six seconds later that would have deadlocked the game again.
Those two shots, one made and one missed, have finally made the NBA Finals compelling, and a series that looked lost for the Heat midway through the fourth quarter is now something entirely different.
It’s 2-1 Dallas, not 3-0, and the Heat cannot be counted out following a thrilling 98-96 victory Tuesday night in what was by far the best basketball anyone had seen in what seemed like a long, long time.
Just when it looked like everyone in this city needed to take all their white clothing and white seat covers and turn them into white flags, the Heat refused to surrender. Instead, they closed the game with a 22-7 run to salvage their season and turn this into a series. #
Oh, and Shaq also shot an amazing 4-6 from the free throw line! :O
