Krypto-Nate vs. Flash: Dwyane Wade's 4th-Quarter Heroics Rally Miami Heat

Wow! Let me repeat that, WOW!

Less than 24 hours after Heat fans had watched their Miami team lose to the team they need to overtake for the Eastern Conference playoffs 4th seed, the Atlanta Hawks, they were treated to a sight they hadn’t seen since the 2006 NBA Finals—Dwyane Wade being a completely unstoppable force.

On a night when through three quarters of play it seemed the only superhero in the American Airlines Arena was the Knicks little big-man, Krypto-Nate Robinson, Miami fans were treated to the latest heroics of their own superhero, a man now known as Flash.

The contest between these two players whose fans have lovably given comic-book hero names? Not even close.

Flash ran circles around the pint-sized Robinson and the rest of the Knicks in the fourth quarter, making Nate and his teammates, I’m sure, feel as if he was in five places at once with his blazing speed and heroic exploits—pouring in a game-high 46 points to go along with 8 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocked shots for the game.

Trailing 98-83 entering the fourth quarter, and 103-88 a few minutes into the fourth, the Miami Heat looked like they were once again going to disappoint their fans. With just 8:35 left to play in the game, the Knicks and their hometown hero, Nate Robinson, had quieted the Heat faithful.

That’s when Flash took over, scoring 24 of his 46 points in the final period—tying a Miami Heat franchise record for most points scored in a quarter, and putting on a performance that was reminiscent of the ones he had given Heat fans during the NBA Finals in 2006.

So, what sparked this latest display of superheroism? What was the catalyst that fired up Miami’s All-Star guard known as D-Wade and ‘Flash’ to his fans? Just what was the turning point?

The Knicks Rookie Danilo Gallinari can tell you.

He’ll almost certainly like to forget having elbowed Dwyane Wade in the mouth, since it has already been tagged the play that awakened Wade’s ferocious beast within.

His elbow wasn’t vicious or malicious though. In fact, he was simply trying to protect the ball from Wade as Dwyane harassed him, trying his best to steal the ball from the burgeoning Knick.

And in truth, even though Gallinari’s elbow bloodied Dwyane, and caused him to need three stitches in his mouth following the game, Al Harrington’s hit on Wade the following play was seemingly more responsible for Dwyane transforming into the superhero the Miami Heat fans were treated to the rest of the game.

As Miami’s Wade lay on his back following Gallinari’s elbow, bleeding from the mouth, he has been described as having a look akin to the one television and movie-going audiences would recognize on the face of the fictional Bruce Banner just before he transformed into the Hulk.

Dwyane got up from that hit, still dazed, just in time to receive another from Harrington, who ran right through Wade and brought him again to his knees.

Like Bruce Banner, Dwyane Wade got angry. And like those who made Banner angry, the Knicks wouldn’t like Wade when he got angry.
Miami Heat Head Coach, Eric Spoelstra, who received a technical for complaining about the rough play, knew all too well what to do with an angry Wade—Unleash Him!

As he called a timeout, Spoelstra is quoted as telling the rest of the Heat players, “Give Dwyane the ball, and get the *@#& out of his way.”

Wise move.

As Wade himself put it, “I felt like I caught a cheap shot. It was just a switch. I hit that switch and I wasn’t going to be denied tonight.”

Truer words have never been spoken, for the Knicks all but looked like the Keystone Kops trying to stop Wade from that moment on.

Miami went on a 19-0 run from that point, with Dwyane scoring 15 of those 19 points as he mouthed to the crowd and the Knicks through a bloodied, swollen mouth that American Airlines Arena was ‘His House’.

As Jamario Moon, the newly acquired small forward the Heat got in the trade of Shawn Marion to the Toronto Raptors for center Jermaine O’Neal put it, “We saw that blood and followed his [Wade’s] lead. We stepped up.”

And that they did, as Jamario poured in 17 points while hauling down 12 boards, and Jermaine O’Neal scored 18 points to go along with 7 rebounds. Michael Beasley added 12 points of his own for the game, and the Miami Heat’s starting power forward, Udonis Haslem, turned in another fine performance, nearly notching a double-double of his own with 8 points and 10 rebounds.

However, their contributions paled in comparison to Wade’s, whose fourth quarter heroics were something legends are made of. Spoelstra said about it, “That might be the most inspired, intense performance we’ve had in the fourth quarter.”

New York Knicks Head Coach, Mike D’Antoni had his own take on it when he said, “You’ve got to give Dwyane Wade credit. The guy’s incredible. We couldn’t even put two guys on him to stop him.”

The Knicks felt differently through three quarters, as they seemed to be able to do whatever they liked with the Heat. They got a pretty good early performance from Larry Hughes, who finished the night with 19 PTS, 5 AST, and 2 STL in the loss, including a clutch three-pointer that tied the game at 114-114 and nearly saved the day for the New York team.

They also got solid contributions from Nate Robinson who led the Knicks in scoring (29 PTS, 8 REB, 4 AST), Chris Duhon (19 PTS, 6 REB, 9 AST), and David Lee (18 PTS, 13 REB).

However, nothing they did in the fourth quarter seemed capable of stopping Dwyane Wade and the Heat. Wade threw that switch in his head, and it was as if everything that had taken place prior to that moment in American Airlines Arena was simply a warm up for the rest that followed—Miami rallying from 15 points down to beat the Knicks 120-115.

I won’t say this game has shown me or anyone else that the Miami Heat are capable of going far in the playoffs. They still need to develop more consistency, and need to get the type of contributions they garnered from Jermaine O’Neal and Jamario Moon last night on a more regular basis.

However, Dwyane Wade showed me, his teammates, the rest of the NBA, and the world, that if you get him angry, he can do things that’ll make opponents cry and Miami Heat fans dance with joyous rapture.

Suggestion to the rest of the NBA?

Don’t get Wade angry. You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.