Dirk
Dirk Nowitzki played Game Four with a 102 fever. Reuters

If you're Rick Carlisle, you're looking at some key stats and you're shaking your head.

The Mavs coach saw his squad pull off an improbable victory in Game Four, 86-83, over the Miami Heat, but in rather ugly fashion.

First, the Mavs had a great deal of trouble scoring in the fourth quarter. Dirk Nowitzki's layup passed Udonis Haslem with 14 seconds remaining was the only field goal the team had in the final five minutes.

Second, the Heat had far too many second chances. Miami came down with 15 offensive rebounds, and the Mavs looked lost and confused boxing out in the first quarter.

Third, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh lit the Mavericks up. Wade had an incredible block on Tyson Chandler in the second half, and finished with 32 points on 13-of-20 shooting. In the final play, Wade had the ball slip out of hands and wasn't able to get a shot off.

Bosh finished with 24 points, on nine-of-19 shooting. Once again, the Mavs struggled to contain the Heat big man.

Fourth, the Mavericks, with their quality three-point shooting, shot just four-of-18 from beyond the arc.

Yet, the Mavericks won.

Nowitzki played Game Four with a fever of 102 degrees, and even missed a free throw in the game.

This all bodes well for Dallas in Games Five and Six. The Mavericks were able to pull off the victory on Tuesday night, and didn't do it with their leader at 100 percent.

Also, the Heat seemed to be fatigued at the end. LeBron James, who always seems to have a spring in his step, converted just three shots.

The Heat deserved to have a better effort than what they got out of several of their players. More than likely, they will be more inspired in Game Five.

But the Mavs have to feel good about limiting Miami to just 14 fourth-quarter points. When the Heat were desperate to score, they couldn't. James was denied lanes to penetrate, and he seemed somewhat mentally fatigued in the final minutes.

Also, J.J. Barea, a surprise starter, showed flashes of the speedy point guard that terrorized the Lakers and Thunder.

Game Five is in Dallas on Thursday.

There's plenty of reason for the Mavericks to feel optimistic.

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