MIAMI — For one precious moment, Gary Payton was back home. Back where he has been for so many years in so many sultry summit moments like this one.
Late in the fourth quarter of a game the Miami Heat somehow stole from the Dallas Mavericks, 98-96, with the shot clock disappearing and the score tied, Payton had the ball in his hands, a feeling as familiar to him as joy or sorrow.
He wasn't Miami's first option, or even its second, but the remarkable Dwyane Wade couldn't shake loose and Jason Williams drove down the lane with nowhere to go but to Payton, who was standing alone in the corner.
This used to be Payton's favorite place. He used to put his brand on moments like this.
But he is at the end of his Hall of Fame career, and these moments now belong to Wade. They belong to the next generation of greatness.
Tuesday night, however, after his team had clawed back from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to tie the score, Payton was there again. Alone in the corner with nine seconds left, he pump-faked once, took one dribble and, just as he did for a decade in Seattle, drained the winning jumper.
It was a moment for the time machine. Another highlight for a player in his twilight.
And it was his only field goal of the game.
"Well, you see why I don't get kind of hyper no more," Payton said. "It's not a hyper thing. I mean we've still got a lot of work to go. It's just fortunate that I made the shot and that we can win this basketball game. I'm not 'hooray' and all that stuff right now. It's not the time.
"For a lot of young kids, [a game-winning shot] might be difficult. But for myself, I've been in the league for 16 years, so you know I'm getting accustomed to it. You've just got to stay focused."
But the fourth quarter isn't Gary Payton's any longer. It isn't even Shaquille O'Neal's.
For Miami, which still trails Dallas 2-1 in these NBA Finals, the fourth quarter and its hopes in this series belong to Wade.
Throughout his 14-year career, O'Neal always has had a sidekick. A guard he could pass to. A scorer he could trust.
He always had a player who could play Martin to his Lewis, Brad to his Angelina, Kelly to his Regis.
In Orlando, O'Neal had Penny Hardaway, and the Magic got to one NBA Finals. In Los Angeles, he had Kobe Bryant and won three championships.
But, for all their greatness, I'm not sure O'Neal has had a sidekick do for him what Dwyane Wade did in the Finals' third game.
"Basically, he took over the game the last five, six minutes," O'Neal said. "That's what a great player of his caliber does."
Miami was fading. The crowd at American Airlines Arena, wearing white T-shirts that looked like flags of surrender, was booing the Heat.
When Dallas' Jason Terry hit a jumper with 6:34 to go, the Mavs were up 89-76 and the building was as quiet as defeat.
And then Wade rescued them in one of the greatest performances in Finals history. He was Michael Jordan against the Jazz. He was Jerry West against the Knicks. He was Magic Johnson against the Celtics.
He was the best player on the floor.
By scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter, Wade gave Payton the chance to win another basketball game.
Wade hit jumpers. He drove hard to the basket. He scored nine points in a 12-2 run that cut Dallas' lead to 91-88.
Down by three with less than two minutes to go, he hit the field goal that kept the Heat alive.
Wade finished with 42 wondrous points and 13 rebounds. The sidekick is now the star.
O'Neal can't take over a game the way he did in Los Angeles just a few seasons ago. He no longer owns the paint. He doesn't intimidate anymore.
O'Neal isn't bad. He just isn't great.
The greatness belongs to Wade.
With apologies to LeBron James, Wade just might be the best young player in the game.
O'Neal is left with moments — pieces of a game that still belong to him.
In the first nine minutes, when the Heat needed a lift, he supplied eight points, four rebounds and three assists. The rest of the night, he had eight more points and seven rebounds.
On this night, he came out looking like the old Shaq, not old Shaq. The Shaq of June, not the Shaq of January. The Diesel, not a dud.
But he no longer can sustain it. Now, O'Neal is a sometimes thing. Sometimes playing like the Godfather. Sometimes playing like your grandfather.
After two hard months of playoff games, he looks every day of his 34 years. He's playing tired.
He looks like a once-great heavyweight champion who has lost his knockout punch and thus his swagger.
The years have caught up with Shaquille O'Neal. He can't deliver 30 points and 15 rebounds on cue. He's a sidekick now.
Miami's future and present belong to Dwyane Wade.
With a little boost Tuesday night from Gary Payton.
Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com
|
|
| DALLAS |
fg |
ft |
|
|
|
|
| min |
m-a |
m-a |
or-t |
a |
pf |
pts |
|
| Howard |
42:22 |
8-13 |
2-2 |
0-5 |
1 |
4 |
21 |
| Nowitzki |
44:44 |
9-20 |
10-12 |
0-7 |
1 |
5 |
30 |
| Diop |
10:54 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
1-4 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
| Terry |
35:33 |
7-14 |
1-2 |
0-1 |
5 |
2 |
16 |
| Griffin |
14:16 |
1-3 |
0-0 |
1-5 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
| Dampier |
29:24 |
6-7 |
2-5 |
5-9 |
0 |
4 |
14 |
| Stackhouse |
31:26 |
1-9 |
2-2 |
0-1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
| DevHarris |
18:20 |
4-7 |
1-3 |
0-0 |
4 |
3 |
9 |
| Van Horn |
8:32 |
0-2 |
0-0 |
0-2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
| Daniels |
4:29 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Totals |
|
36-75 |
18-26 |
7-34 |
15 |
29 |
96 |
Percentages: FG .480, FT .692.
Three-point goals: 6-16, .375 (Howard 3-3, Nowitzki 2-7, Terry 1-3, Stackhouse 0-1, Van Horn 0-2).
Team rebounds: 4.
Team turnovers: 16 (13 PTS).
Blocked shots: 2 (Dampier, Howard).
Turnovers: 15 (Nowitzki 3, Dev.Harris 2, Stackhouse 2, Terry 2, Van Horn 2, Dampier, Daniels, Griffin, Howard).
Steals: 9 (Dampier 3, Griffin 2, Terry 2, Dev.Harris, Stackhouse).
|
|
| MIAMI |
fg |
ft |
|
|
|
|
| min |
m-a |
m-a |
or-t |
a |
pf |
pts |
|
| Walker |
35:23 |
6-17 |
0-2 |
1-7 |
1 |
3 |
12 |
| Haslem |
34:13 |
3-8 |
2-6 |
8-11 |
0 |
4 |
8 |
| O'Neal |
37:06 |
6-9 |
4-6 |
3-11 |
5 |
3 |
16 |
| Williams |
34:49 |
5-11 |
0-0 |
0-1 |
3 |
3 |
12 |
| Wade |
43:05 |
14-26 |
13-18 |
2-13 |
2 |
5 |
42 |
| Payton |
19:09 |
1-1 |
0-0 |
1-2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
| Mourning |
8:35 |
1-2 |
0-0 |
1-1 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
| Posey |
27:40 |
1-2 |
1-2 |
0-3 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
| Totals |
|
37-76 |
20-34 |
16-49 |
13 |
23 |
98 |
Percentages: FG .487, FT .588.
Three-point goals: 4-14, .286 (Williams 2-5, Posey 1-2, Wade 1-2, Walker 0-5).
Team rebounds: 13.
Team turnovers: 20 (28 PTS).
Blocked shots: 2 (O'Neal 2).
Turnovers: 20 (O'Neal 7, Haslem 3, Williams 3, Payton 2, Walker 2, Mourning, Posey, Wade).
Steals: 9 (Haslem 3, Mourning 2, Wade 2, O'Neal, Payton).
Technical fouls: Wade, 4:29 first; Payton, 9:18 second.
|
|
| Dallas |
21 |
22 |
34 |
19 — 96 |
| Miami |
29 |
23 |
16 |
30 — 98 |
|
Attendance: 20,145 (19,600).
Time: 2:47.
Officials: Ken Mauer, Jack Nies, Dan Crawford.
|
| NBA Finals |
| Dallas leads best-of-7 series 2-1.
All games on Ch. 4. |
| Date |
Result |
| June 8 |
At Dallas 90, Miami 80 |
| June 11 |
At Dallas 99, Miami 85 |
| Tuesday |
At Miami 98, Dallas 96 |
| Date |
Game |
| Thursday |
Dallas at Miami, 6 p.m. |
| Sunday |
Dallas at Miami, 6 p.m. |
| June 20* |
Miami at Dallas, 6 p.m. |
| June 22* |
Miami at Dallas, 6 p.m. |
| *if necessary |
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