Miami Heat 47 vs. Dallas Mavericks 45 – NBA Finals Game-4 Halftime Analysis
Chris Bosh scored 16 points and Dwyane Wade added 13 as the Miami Heat led the Dallas Mavericks 47-45 at halftime in game-4 of the 2011 National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals on Tuesday night at the American Airlines Center.
Guard DeShawn Stevenson, on the other hand, came off the bench to lead the Mavericks with 12 points at the intermission. Dirk Nowitzki could not find his rhythm in the first half as he added just eight points.
First Quarter
The Mavericks entered the home court to even the series and it was Nowitzki who gave them the head start with three successive buckets. Staring at a 6-0 deficit early in the first quarter, Chris Bosh hit a jump shot to score the
first basket for the Heat at the 09:45 mark. Both teams missed some easy shots in the next one and half minute. Bosh then hit a tip shot and followed it with a jumper to knot the game at 6-6.
On the next possession, the Mavs again snatched the lead on a Barea’s driving lay-up shot however Wade scored his first basket of game in return, tying the game at 8-8 with 06:24 to go in the quarter.
Dallas scored the next four consecutive points to take a 12-8 lead. Jason Terry fouled Wade, who scored two of the two free throws to cut the deficit to two and then LeBron James, who went scoreless for the first six minutes of
the quarter, finally hit a tip shot to tie the game at 12-12. The Mavericks again surged ahead with a three but the Heat answered with a 5-0 run to go ahead by 21-19. Jose Barea hit a pair of free throw in the closing seconds though to tie the game at 21 after
12 minutes.
Second Quarter
Miami turned it on in the second quarter on raced to a 7-0 run to take a 28-21 advantage. The Mavericks however scored six unanswered points to cut the deficit to one. Miami surged again though and this time it was Bosh, who jammed
the rim and then slipped a lay-up to set the tone. Joel Anthony nailed a tip shot to widen the Heat’s lead to 34-29, 07:54 left till the break.
The scoring spree shook the Mavs and they responded by scoring nine straight points to create a 38-34 lead. Miami however hung tough and found their way ahead again late in the quarter, 45-43 with 59 seconds remaining. Chandler’s
lay-up shot in the next ten seconds tied the game at 45. However, Chalmers hit a running jump shot to put the Heat ahead by two points, 47-45, at halftime.
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