Dwyane Wade Became ‘Flash’ Again in Game 4

A resurgent performance last night from Dwyane Wade had everyone recalling his legendary play in the 2006 NBA Finals. The artist formerly known as Flash had 32 electric points — adding tough defense, and hauling in some huge rebounds — in the Miami Heat’s 109-93 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4. Per NBA.com: “‘Yeah, I needed a game like this, but my teammates needed a game like this from me,’ Wade said. ‘Needed me to be aggressive. Needed me to play the way I’m capable of. Most important, they needed the Big Three to play the way we’re capable of. They depend on us a lot. We love our teammates and we can’t win without them. (But) we’re not going to win this series if myself, Chris (Bosh) and LeBron (James) don’t show up to play on a consistent basis.’ It was a game that saw Wade’s eyes practically grow as big as saucers when he saw himself being guarded by 6-foot-11 Tiago Splitter. ‘I was glad I had the ball in my hand,’ he said. For the first time in the series, all of the Big Three actually looked happy to be there. With his 33 points, James avoided being held under 20 points four consecutive times in the playoffs for the first time in his career. For Wade, his line — 32 points, six assists, four rebounds and six steals — showed quite simply that he’s still got it. It was the most he’s scored since March 4 at Minnesota. And after scoring just a combined eight second-half points in the first three games of The Finals, he put the Spurs away with 18 after halftime for the 109-93 win. […] It might as well have been a page out of an old scrapbook for the way Wade went out hitting 14 of 25 shots and oozing confidence. ‘The 25 shots let me know that he was aggressive, every shot that he took,’ James said. ‘He wasn’t passive. He came off, they went under (picks), he shot his jumper. In transition he attacked the rim. He continued to attack throughout the game. No matter how great you are, no matter what your resume is, to have a game like this, it lets you know that you’re still one bad — you know the next two words. I can’t say, my kids might be watching. That dude was amazing. Like I said, he was ’06 Flash tonight.'”