<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Most of the silly mistakes were gone, replaced by precision. The indecision was gone, replaced by near-manic activity. The concerns about the Heat bench were gone, replaced by James Posey. The stress of a two-game deficit is gone, replaced by the knowledge that the NBA Finals is now a best-of-3 series. The Heat put together its best performance of the Finals, winning 98-74 at AmericanAirlines Arena to even the championship round at 2-2. Dwyane Wade scored 36 points with six rebounds, looking unaffected by a left knee injury he sustained in the third quarter of Game 3. Shaquille O'Neal was lively in his 30 minutes, finishing with 17 points, 13 rebounds and three assists, and Posey came off the bench to put up 15 points and 10 rebounds, the first double-double off the bench in these playoffs. ''It was our best game, no doubt, in this series,'' Heat coach Pat Riley said. If there was any doubt about the health of Wade, he settled those in the early going Thursday. His knee might have bothered him some, but his shooting stroke was as fit as it gets. After scoring his first points on a driving layup that started a three-point play, Wade put on a shooting clinic, working his way farther the rim with each shot. First he hit a 16-foot jumper, then a 20-footer, then a 22-footer followed by the first of two three-pointers in the first half. After putting up 15 points in the fourth quarter of Game 2, Wade had 14 by the 4:51 mark of the first quarter. Wade's 6-of-10 shooting in the opening quarter helped the Heat shoot 57.1 percent from the floor for the period and lead 30-25, while the Mavericks were just 39.1 percent shooting. Wade didn't stop there. He scored another 10 points in the second quarter, got some help from an active and accurate Posey (3 of 4, eight points in the first quarter) to extend the Heat's lead to as much as 13 in the quarter and 54-44 at halftime. A lineup adjustment from the Mavericks, who started Devin Harris instead of the defensive-minded Adrian Griffin, didn't deter Wade in scoring 24 points in the opening 24 minutes.</div> Source
