The Heat may have lost to Cleveland last night by 7, but Cleveland lost a bit of its dignity. At least, Anderson Varejao did: with just under four minutes in the first quarter, and in front of his idol Michael Jordan, Dwyane Wade grabbed a Jermaine O'Neal block of LeBron James, took off, and hammered down a filthy dunk "on Varejao's soul" that sent the poor sap to the floor on his back like a humiliated turtle.
It didn't end there -- MV3 was so fired up that after his forward momentum carried him a few steps court left, he turned and strode the opposite direction back under the basket just so he could step over his kill. The place errupted. So did Varajao, who clearly realized he'd just become the whipping boy of 8 billion YouTube videos and tried to earn back a little self-worth with his mouth back down the stretch.
Double technicals for jawing? Who cares. Behold!
Oh, it's so sick. And the intensity just goes to show how fun it is when the two best players in the NBA try to outshine each other for four quarters. LeBron James nabbed 34 points and the win, Wade put up 36 and scheduled some time to get ill. But though Wade's supporting cast showed up to play -- Michael Beasley added a season-high 24, O'Neal 15 -- there was no answer for Clevand's offense in the end. Especially not for James, who had eight consecutive points to put the Cavs up 10 with two minutes remaining.
While the loss is disappointing, it's clear that Miami can play with Cleveland. And two remaining regular season games -- one in January, on February -- should be just as entertaining.
"I like playing against LeBron more than anybody else in the league," Wade said. "He brings out the best in me, and I bring out the best in him."
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Unfortunately for Anderson Varejao, he gets the short end of the stick.
Janie Campbell is taking the attendence of both Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan as A SIGN. Her work has appeared in irreverent sports sites around the Internet.
