A tight first half ended with a 13-7 Heat run as Miami led Dallas 47-45 at halftime in the pivotal Game 4 of the NBA Finals. The Heat started slow from the field and only hit one three-pointer in the half, but they closed strong from inside the arc and held Dirk Nowitzki to another poor first half of eight points and just one rebound.
Chris Bosh led the way for Miami with 16, a bad sign for the Mavericks, and Dwyane Wade chipped in 13. LeBron James had just four, and Mario Chalmers also added five points and four assists.
Rick Carlisle made a surprising starting lineup change, inserting J.J. Barea for DeShawn Stevenson. The move had an unexpected result, as Stevenson led Dallas in scoring with 11 points off the bench. Jason Terry had 9, and Tyson Chandler had a nice first half, with seven points and eight rebounds.
Miami dominated the indicator stats, outrebounding Dallas 24-16 and collecting ten offensive boards. They held Dallas to an unusually low nine assists and forced eight turnovers.
Udonis Haslem is the only player in the game with three fouls.
Game 5 will be in Dallas once more, Thursday night at 8:00 CDT. A win by Miami tonight would make that game a potential closer, and possibly their second championship celebration on Dallas’ court.