Dirk Nowitzki Fought Through Illness, Delivered in Game 4

As the media in the press room kept insisting following the Mavs’ gutsy win, Dirk Nowitzki came through in his own version of the “Flu Game”, and helped Dallas tie things up with the Miami Heat. The Star-Telegram has the quotes: “It was a given that Dallas Mavericks star forward Dirk Nowitzki needed some help from his slumping teammates if they were going to have a chance of staying alive in the NBA Finals. He pleaded and even demanded as much before the Game 4 matchup against the Miami Heat on Tuesday at American Airlines Center. Little did Nowitzki know how much help he would need after waking up earlier Tuesday morning with a sinus infection and a 101-degree fever. ‘It wasn’t 103, but it was like 101 this morning. I really didn’t get a good night’s rest, so it was just under the weather a little bit, but just battled it out,’ Nowitzki said. ‘It didn’t look good there in the fourth quarter when we were down nine, but energy and defense really picked us up.’ But clearly in a season of miraculous comebacks and thrilling finishes for the Mavericks, the challenge is never much to Nowitzki and his never-say-die teammates. He scored 21 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, as the Mavericks rallied from a nine-point deficit to take an 86-83 victory before 20,430 frenzied fans at the AAC. They tied the best of seven series at 2-2, ensuring a trip back to Miami for Game 6 on Sunday.”