AP blog from Game 4 of the NBA finals

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Maybe Dirk Nowitzki really is sick.

He just missed a free throw. Considering he’s roughly a 118 percent shooter for his career, this is major news.

Mavs up 64-61 with 3:52 left in the third. Much like in Game 3, you get the sense that this will be decided by either one little burst, or a shot at the end, and possibly both.

Shawn Marion doing his best Shawn-Marion-of-old impression, getting 10 so far in the third quarter on his way to 16 for the Mavs in just 23 minutes. Nowitzki has 11, while Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade have combined for 43 of Miami’s 61 points.

Also, LeBronwatch continues: Still on four points. Which means my pregame prediction is off by a mere 31.

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And a Twitter question from Toreno13: “Why dont someone just stand under basket when Barea drives and swat his shot?”

Answer: Because A) that would likely be a defensive three-second call and B) he’s missing enough to keep the Heat happy.

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If you told Rick Carlisle before the game that in the third quarter, Joel Anthony would have as many points as LeBron James, he likely would have dumped a bottle of champagne on himself.

Well, it’s happened.

Joel 4, LeBron 4.

And somehow, it’s Heat 53, Mavericks 53 with 8:10 left in the third quarter.

ABC’s Doris Burke reported at halftime that Dirk Nowitzki has a 101-degree fever, which explains his non-Dirkness so far. James just isn’t in a flow yet. And the Mavs haven’t taken advantage.

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