Vintage Dwyane Wade coming alive to save the Miami Heat’s season

It seemed all was lost .

About midway through the fourth, the Miami Heat trailed by seven points. They were struggling to score and failing to capitalize on DeMar DeRozen and Kyle Lowry’s struggles. At one point, it seemed nobody on the Heat could score, with one exception.

Dwyane Wade–the Flash–was definitely rolling.

Coming off his highest scoring playoff game since 2012 (38 points on 13-of-25 shooting) just two nights before, when it felt like Miami’s season was on life support, Wade dropped 30 more, including the clutch layup to send the game to overtime. The Heat prevailed 94-87 to knot this Eastern Conference semi-finals series at two a piece. It’s the first time Wade has scored 30 or more in back-to-back playoff games since 2010, when his one-man show fell short against the Pierce-Allen-Garnett led Celtics.

“It looked dark for a minute,” Wade said, “but there was no quit in us.”

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Goran Dragic and Joe Johnson tallied 15 a piece for Miami, and both came up big in the extra session to take some of the weight off Flash’s enervated shoulders. Johnson’s two blocked shots in the first minute set the tone and Dragic’s knifing layup to earn two and one at the line all but sealed it with 22.4 seconds left.

Wade, who’s valiant fourth quarter effort brought the Heat back from down nine in the frantic final minutes, didn’t score in overtime until his steal and dunk in the final seconds, and suffered a SportsCenter “Not Top 10” moment when his scoop lay up rested cozily on the back of the rim instead of dropping through the net.

All the gags and offensive struggles aside, this series has been all about Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. and it doesn’t seem like he’s letting his foot off the gas anytime soon. Through four games against these Raptors, Wade is averaging 27.3 points on 21.8 field goal attempts per game. He’s also leading the Heat in three-point percentage at a whopping 60 percent. At times last night, the Toronto defense seemed completely helpless at stopping the 34-year-old shooting guard from exploding to the rim and getting just about any look he wanted.

“I was trying to attack and be aggressive, of course, but this wasn’t a do-all, will game for me where I was going to shoot every shot,” Wade pointed out. ” … All eyes was on me. I wasn’t going to force anything.”

This isn’t anything new, however.

Since he came into the league in 2003, Wade has been the heart and soul of the Miami sports community. Long willing the Heat to heights and success the franchise had never seen before, no other icon in South Florida is more beloved.

He is adored, and he’s earned it.

In his 13th season, Wade is a three-time champion, a 12-time All Star, scoring champion and put up arguably the greatest NBA Finals performance we’ve ever witnessed in 2006, leading the Heat back from an 0-2 series deficit to win the franchise’s first ever championship in a thrilling six game series with the Dallas Mavericks.

He also passed Magic Johnson for 13th place on the all-time playoff scoring list Monday night, and figures to keep climbing up the ranks of history.

While the youth, athleticism and explosiveness of the old Flash doesn’t manifest every night, Wade’s veteran savvy and high basketball I.Q. make for a graceful transition from a high motor, speed driven youngster to a seasoned, all-around superstar still capable of “turning back the clocks” (as people call it), on any night.

While he was carrying the load, a familiar face on the sideline was tremendously supportive.

“Chris Bosh kept coming up to me and kept saying, ‘If we’re gonna go out, I want to go out with you having the ball,'” Wade said. “He kept telling me to be aggressive.”

It’s no secret Wade’s work in this series has been remarkable, and the confidence is spewing out.

“I’m as confident as I’ve been all season right now,” Wade said. ” … I love that every time I come out on the court, I feel just as good as I did the last game. It allows me to go out there and play the game that I love the way that I can.”

Those words are tremendous, knowing the road Wade has ahead of him. With no Chris Bosh or Hassan Whiteside available, Miami has no consistent, reliable offensive force outside of No. 3. Luckily for the Heat, Toronto’s pair of All-Star guards have struggled mightily in these playoffs and, with starting center Jonas Valanciunas ruled out for the series, on Wade’s shoulders the series teeters.

All the doubts aside, the work Wade put in these past two off-seasons is showing. He looks very much like his former self and it doesn’t look like he’s letting up anytime soon.

“I worked my tail off this summer to try to get my body to the point where I can go out here and play the game at an elite level and not worry about my age or anything,” Wade said. “I know when I’m healthy, I can play this game as good as anybody.”

More heat: 5 notes from Miami's Game 4 win vs Toronto

Yes, even at 34 years old, a healthy, spry Dwyane Wade can still play this game at the highest level. He’s just reminding each and every one of us something we already knew.