The Heat of the moment

DALLAS — For a change, Shaquille O’Neal was not the MVP on the team that won the National Basketball Association (NBA) championship.

Dwayne Wade was named the MVP in the Finals that ended in Game 6 here Tuesday night as the Miami Heat came back from a 0-2 series deficit to crush the Dallas Mavericks.

While NBA commissioner David Stern awarded the MVP trophy to Wade, the Big Diesel cheered lustily.

For three straight years, O’Neal was voted the Finals MVP in the Los Angeles Lakers’ title wins over Indiana in 2000, Philadelphia in 2001 and New Jersey in 2002. He had plenty of help from Kobe Bryant but there was no question Shaq Daddy was in a class of his own.

But O’Neal wanted out of the Lakers stifling environment when owner Jerry Buss chose Bryant to take over as team leader after Los Angeles bowed to Detroit in five games in the 2004 Finals. O’Neal moved to Miami where Wade was slowly being groomed to be the Main Man.

Right off the bat, there was chemistry between O’Neal, 34, and Wade, 24. It looked like they were meant for each other. O’Neal never liked teaming with Bryant, whom he once accused of being selfish, although they were good for three crowns.

"I want Shaq to have the ball every possession," said Wade. "I know how it’s easiest for him to score and I try to get him the ball. When he came, I told him it’s his team. But he told me it was my game and I should go out and win it for us. He told me when he was off the court, I should attack and take over the game. I should try to make some plays because it was going to be my night."

O’Neal was so impressed by his youthful teammate that he nicknamed him "Flash."

"I think I’ve taught Shaq that not everybody is the same," said Wade. "When he sees me, he sees a young player with a lot of talent but is still hungry and still wants to learn and is still down to earth. The two guys he was with, (Penny) Hardaway (in Orlando) and Kobe, it didn’t go the way that everybody thought it should have gone. I think I taught him there’s still life after whatever happened in his previous situations."

In the just-concluded Finals, O’Neal took a back seat to Wade who never hesitated in putting the Heat on his back.

Dallas came out smoking to take Games 1 and 2, leaving Miami biting the dust. Wade shot 28 in Game 1 and 23 in Game 2. Then came the pivotal Game 3 where Wade fired 42 points in Miami’s 98-96 victory at home. Storming back from a 13-point deficit with 6 1/2 minutes left, the Heat leaned on Wade’s 15 points in the fourth period to pull off the squeaker.

In Game 4, Wade poured in 36 points as Miami trounced Dallas, 98-74. He shot a playoff career-high 43 in Game 5 and netted 36 in the Game 6 clincher.

Dallas coach Avery Johnson tried every trick in the book to contain Wade or at least limit his touches. He zoned, trapped and doubled. Adrian Griffin, Devin Harris, Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse and Marquis Daniels took turns trying to shackle Wade — all to no avail. Wade threw up jumpers over the shorter Harris, drove past the slower Griffin, went to the pick-and-roll to throw off the taller Howard, ran rings around the older Stackhouse and exploited Daniels’ inexperience.

"He had a lot of will to win," said Johnson. "You’ve seen a lot of players, like Michael Jordan, who have really had those type of performances. We tried a lot of different things but he just had a lot of desire to get it done."

Miami coach Pat Riley said he was in awe of Wade in the Finals.

"I’ve never had a player like this, or I have not been around a player who can absolutely, at times, beat five guys and then at the same time, make great plays to players," he said. ’The biggest play of Game 6 was when he found James Posey who hit the three in the corner. He kept finding guys all night.’

Wade left his imprint on the championship trophy when he scored four free throws in a row to stake Miami to a 95-90 lead, time down to 17.7 seconds, in Game 6. Howard’s two charities closed out the scoring. Wade hit 11 of his 36, grabbed six of his 10 rebounds and dished off three of his five assists in the fourth quarter to ice it for Miami.

Riley showed his confidence in Wade when with 9.1 seconds left in Game 5 and Dallas up, 100-99, he worked a play for the "Flash" to get the inbounds pass. Wade took it in the backcourt and dribbled up the court, eluding at least three defenders, to fish for a foul with 1.9 ticks to go. Wade calmly knocked down the free throws as Miami eked out a 101-100 win in overtime.

Wade said he wouldn’t have succeeded without his teammates.

"My teammates do a great job of spacing the court so I can do what I do," he said. ’The MVP is a team award, just like it’s a team championship. My coaches do a great job of getting me prepared. It’s one of the best feelings, next to my wife and son. It’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had in my life.’

The 6-4, 212-pound Wade played two years at Marquette University and was picked by Miami on the first round of the 2003 draft after LeBron James, Darko Milicic, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh.

A deeply religious family man, Wade wears No. 3 as a testament to his devotion to the Holy Trinity. He donates 10 percent of his annual salary to the Christian ministry Blood, Water and the Spirit.

Wade, whose motto is "fall seven times, get up eight" as in his shoe commercial, played on the US team that won the bronze medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Wade met his wife Siovaughn when he was 11 playing near his father’s house in a Chicago suburb. They became high school sweethearts after he broke up with his girlfriend in his freshman year. In 2002, they were married. Their three-year-old son Zaire is lefthanded and will probably be a basketball player, too.

Wade is a fashion plate who models for Sean John. He was recently named the NBA’s best-dressed player by Gentlemen’s Quarterly. Wade has two older brothers and a 29-year-old sister Tragil whom he considers his father and mother for bringing him up.

In the Finals, Wade gained a reputation for his fearlessness and humility.

’That’s what I love about this game, the fierceness of it, going in and hitting bodies,’ he said. "That makes me feel good. You can’t think about getting injured. You have to go in there with the thought that you’re going to make a play happen and finish. Hopefully, my body will stay healthy enough that I’ll never have to change my style."

Wade’s scoring average has increased from 16.2 as a rookie in 2003-04 to 24.1 to 27.2. His career highs include 48 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists.