Miami
Now this Eastern Conference semifinal series is even again.
Wade scored 30 points, Goran Dragic had a huge three-point play with 22.4 seconds left in overtime and the Heat beat the Toronto Raptors 94-87 in Game 4 on Monday night.
Dragic and Joe Johnson each scored 15 for the Heat, who rallied from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Game 5 is in Toronto on Wednesday night.
Terrence Ross and Cory Joseph each scored 14 for Toronto, which shot 39 percent. Bismack Biyombo and DeMarre Carroll added 13 apiece, while starting guards DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry combined for 19 points on 6-for-28 shooting.
Miami was down 77-68 midway through the fourth, and still trailed 79-72 when Lowry got the roll on a 15-footer with 5 minutes left.
That’s when Wade went to work.
He scored the next five for Miami, getting the Heat within 79-77. The deficit was still two when Lowry fouled out — on an offensive foul — with 1:58 left. The Heat finally got the equalizer with 12.6 seconds left, Wade getting to the rim for a layup that knotted the game at 83-all.
Joseph missed a jumper to end regulation and the Raptors scored a mere four points in the extra session.
It was not an offensive showcase, by any measure. The first shot of the night was an airball by DeRozan. It might have been a harbinger of what awaited both offenses.
The best example? Wade tried a scoop shot from the right side of the lane in overtime. The ball bounced on the rim a few times, and stayed there.
Really, it did. The ball came to rest on the back of the rim, resulting in a jump ball that Toronto won with 58 seconds remaining. DeRozan scored on that possession to get Toronto within two, but the Raptors wouldn’t score again.
Biyombo started in place of injured center Jonas Valanciunas and made an impact, dunking on Amare Stoudemire — Miami’s starter in place of injured center Hassan Whiteside — while getting fouled 3:05 into the game, flexing his muscles for good measure. But the Heat eventually settled in, leading 25-21 after the first quarter and taking a 44-35 lead into the half as Toronto missed its last nine shots of the second quarter.
The Raptors then made eight of their first 11 shots to open the second half. Carroll was 5 for 5 in the quarter after a 1-for-5 start, and Toronto led by six late in the third before taking a 62-60 edge into the fourth.
Lowry played only 1:54 in the third because of foul trouble and it didn’t matter, Toronto still outscoring Miami 27-16 in the quarter.
St. Louis
Vernon Fiddler and Jason Spezza also scored for Dallas, which reclaimed home ice for the deciding game on Wednesday night despite getting outshot 37-14 with the Blues dominating the last two periods.
Alexander Steen and Patrik Berglund scored for St. Louis.
Blues goalie Brian Elliott, who had played well throughout the postseason, was replaced with the Stars leading 3-0 on just seven shots at 16:49 of the first.
Jake Allen finished in his first appearance of this postseason.
St. Louis will be seeking its first trip to the Western Conference final since 2001 and Dallas, which finished first overall in the West, previously made it that far in 2008.
The Stars were ahead 3-0 after the first, their first two- and three-goal leads of the series.
That early show of strength muzzled another standing room crowd of 19,808 at the Scottrade Center with the first two goals coming in a span of 20 seconds.
Janmark blocked Colton Parayko’s dump-in from just inside the blue line and skated in alone on Elliott, scoring on a high shot. Fiddler made it 2-0 on a deflection at 5:13 not long after Elliott couldn’t clear the puck.
Elliott was pulled after the Stars made it three goals on seven shots, with Spezza scoring on a power play from the slot at 16:49. Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester fell down seconds before Spezza’s first of the series and fifth of the playoffs.
The Blues had several good chances in the first, but often missed the net.
Steen’s goal on a rebound of Robert Bortuzzo’s shot gave the Blues life in the second period. The Blues had a 14-5 shots advantage in the period, including another good opportunity for Steen on a one-timer off Lehtonen’s pads in the final minute.
Berglund cut the deficit to one at 8:59 of the third, tapping it in from close range off a nice setup from Jori Lehtera. Lehtonen stopped Jaden Schwartz on a one-timer with about 20 seconds left.