NBA Finals, Game 3: Miami 98 - Dallas 96

Game 3 of the NBA Finals finally delivered some of the intensity that one would expect from a championship series. Miami and Dallas traded blow for blow for much of the first half, with Miami maintaining the lead. But Dallas, pulling ahead in the third period thanks to a 34-16 jolt, began to take charge of the game.

In the end, the Heat turned themselves up (bad pun fully intended, and delivered with shameless enthusiasm), and managed to stay alive and avoid a generally insurmountable 3-0 series deficit.

For the outsider, it's probably hard to decide who to root for (that is, if the outsider is watching at all). Both teams are in the Finals for the first time. Pat Riley returned to coaching after Stan Van Gundy resigned in December, and Dallas coach Avery Johnson is enjoying not only a banner first season, but has the Coach of the Year trophy to prove it. And upon his arrival to Miami, Shaquille O'Neal promised the city and team an NBA championship, with all the confidence of Babe Ruth calling a home run.

But up until now it's been fairly lopsided.

Let's talk about game 2 for just a second. It was a clean spanking delivered to Miami, with no room left for argument. That's to be expected, to some degree, as Dallas was completing the second home game of their first ever Finals series.

Now back in Miami, the Heat need to reclaim some lost ground. Although barely eeking by, they turned around a fourth quarter deficit to deliver a win when it was needed most. This is a welcome sign for anyone following the Eastern Conference, as Shaq's measly 5 points in game 2, the result of dismal shooting, was a large part of the blame for the Heat loss.

Article Author: David R Perry

Lost somewhere in the rolling hills of Tennessee, David R Perry can occasionally be found doing dark, unspeakable things to words. Printed words, spoken words, electronically mangled words... really any kind but twittered words.

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