Dwyane Wade is really pleased with himself. (Getty Images)

The dream of the late '80s and early '90s, it seems, is alive in Miami.

After his Miami Heat eked out a 104-98 win in Game 4 of their best-of-seven NBA Finals matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night, Heat star Dwyane Wade headed to the postgame press conference to discuss his strong, box-score-stuffing outing — 25 points on 19 shots, five rebounds, three assists, two steals, two blocks and just two turnovers in nearly 42 minutes of play — and the feeling of being just one win away from his second NBA championship. When he arrived, he did so wearing flip-up sunglasses, a very clear and on-the-nose goof that he acknowledged from the podium.

"Yeah, paying a little homage to Dwayne Wayne tonight," Wade said.

To clarify for those of you who are young persons who were not consuming popular culture from the years 1987 through 1993, Dwayne Wayne — who looked like this — was a character on "A Different World," an NBC sitcom spun off from "The Cosby Show" that focused on a group of young students at a historically black college in Virginia. Dwayne Wayne was played by Kadeem Hardison, whom hoop fans might recognize from basketball-related films "White Men Can't Jump" and "The Sixth Man." Dwayne Wayne was really good at math, but he wasn't really a nerd, per se, and he was super tight with this dude, and he ruined a dude's wedding once, and he designed a video game, I think?

So, yes. Classic reference that is timely and relevant, and makes tons of sense via your names sounding the same, and the fact that '80s/'90s glasses are the greatest thing any NBA player has ever seen, apparently. Except now, it seems, it is all over, because even LeBron James thinks things have gotten out of control:

It looked like the worst possible timing for LeBron James and the Miami Heat. Tied in the fourth quarter of Game 4, with Russell Westbrook in the midst of an 11-straight-points onslaught and just under six minutes left to determine whether Miami would hold a 3-1 series lead or the Oklahoma City Thunder would get all-square at two games apiece ... and this is when that body betrays him?

After two Westbrook free throws knotted the game at 90 midway through the fourth, James found himself one-on-one with Kevin Durant, looking for a chance to answer. He dribbled right, gained the lane, looked to turn the corner and ... crumpled to the deck:

Derek Fisher — once again, seemingly in defiance of logic, on the court late in a pivotal NBA Finals game — made the steal and raced down the other end looking for a two-point lead, but had his shot erased by Dwyane Wade, leading to Mario Chalmers finding a still-hobbling-in-the-front-court James for a quick layup, followed by some more hobbling.

After Westbrook's first miss of the fourth was rebounded by Chris Bosh, Miami called timeout and James hit the deck again. He had to be helped off the court by a Heat trainer and teammate Juwan Howard, massaged on the sidelines as fluids were poured down his throat in an attempt to loosen the lock-up and get him back on the floor for the final five minutes of Game 4.

Following a 75-second stint on the sideline that saw OKC re-take the lead at 94-92, James returned to the court. Seventy-five seconds later, he put the Heat up for good:

"Bang" is right, Mike Breen.

A high-stakes game of Connect Four continues apace. (Getty Images)

Excited for the NBA Finals? Join the BDL crew for a live Finals Chat on Twitter during Tuesday night's Game 4. We'll be cracking jokes, sharing observations and talking about the game with NBA fans like you. Participate by using the hashtag #FinalsChat, and don't forget to follow @YahooBDL for your daily NBA fix.

"Oh, now I've got you, Philip. I've defended your yellow discs with my red ones; you are without available options in your quest to align four like-colored circles. Look at you, desperate for a place to turn, but feeling the pressure of the moment. Now, you are mine. Should've spaced your discs, boy. Prepare for the reck'nin'." — Juwan Howard, the world's crotchety-est, most competitive, most sadistic ol' Connect Four player.

Best caption wins a bootleg Internet version of the popular game. Good luck.

In our last adventure: Calm down, Derek Fisher. Dwyane Wade isn't even on your lawn.

Serge Ibaka whispers something mean in LeBron James' ear. (Getty Images)

Excited for the NBA Finals? Join the BDL crew for a live Finals Chat on Twitter during Tuesday night's Game 4. We'll be cracking jokes, sharing observations and talking about the game with NBA fans like you. Participate by using the hashtag #FinalsChat, and don't forget to follow @YahooBDL for your daily NBA fix.

After popping for 17 points and 16 points in the fourth quarters of Games 1 and 2 of the NBA Finals, Kevin Durant struggled in the final frame of Game 3. The league's reigning scoring champion missed 4 of 6 field-goal attempts and both of his free throws in the fourth, scoring just four points in the last 12 minutes on Sunday night as his Oklahoma City Thunder fell to the Miami Heat, 91-85, to give Miami a 2-1 lead in this best-of-seven championship series. As the two teams went back to the drawing board on Monday to prepare for Tuesday's Game 4, an awful lot of talk centered on Durant's quiet fourth and the degree to which the defense of LeBron James influenced it.

Thunder forward Serge Ibaka, noted shot-blocker and runner-up in this year's Defensive Player of the Year balloting, thinks the answer is, "Not that much." Also, he thinks down 1-2 in the Finals is a good time to talk reckless. From Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post:

"LeBron is not a good defender," Ibaka said about the player who received the most votes for the league's all-defensive team, which is selected by the coaches.

"He can play defense for two to three minutes but not 48 minutes." [...]

"LeBron can't play (Durant) one-on-one," Ibaka said. "They're playing good defense like a team."

Appraised of Ibaka's comments on Tuesday, James reportedly offered a succinct reply: "I don't really care what he says. It's stupid."

[Marc J. Spears: Shane Battier hopes to become second of Coach K's Duke players with NBA title]

Here, courtesy of Your Man, a less succinct reply:

• Way to go, Serge Ibaka! Trash talking makes everything more fun. Remember how much we liked it when Kevin Durant backed down Dwyane Wade, shot over him, then smiled and told him he was "too small"? (Of course you do. That happened literally two days ago, in Game 3.) Now we will all be like, "Oooh, intrigue!" every time Ibaka and James share the floor, and be able to laugh and smile about how great it is that two young, competitive, combative teams are willing to mix it up for our amusement. Fight, fight, fight, fight, fight!

It's not new information that Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony are going to star in a feature film titled "Amazing," a joint production between the NBA and the Shanghai Film Group (SFG) that's been billed as "the first NBA-themed motion picture outside of North America." The NBA and SFG announced the film project in August 2010, and we promptly noted how fascinating it sounded, how excited we were for it, and how big an opportunity it appeared to present for sheer filmic disaster.

But you'd be forgiven if you forgot about "Amazing," because things have been pretty quiet on the development front since that initial announcement. The scheduled summer 2011 release date came and went, as the league and its players tended to other, more pressing business. 'Melo moved from Denver to Manhattan and appeared on "Nurse Jackie," while Dwight seemingly tried to move from Orlando before hemming/hawing his way into a one-year extension with the Magic, and appeared in "The Three Stooges." And in the absence of updates, it seemed like the project had been, at the very least, de-emphasized. Film buffs the world over began to fear that the film would never see the light of day.

[Adrian Wojnarowski: NBA hoping to generate more revenue with World Cup of Basketball proposal]

This last weekend, though, roundball-loving cineastes received some long overdue good news. Not only is "Amazing" back, on its way to global cineplexes and sounding bigger and better than ever, but thanks to the magic of The Basketball Jones' Trey Kerby, we now know what it looks like. And oh, man, does it look even more insane and great than we'd hoped.

Li Anlan of the Shanghai Daily has some details on the film:

Geez, calm down, Derek Fisher. (Getty Images)

Whoa. Settle down, Derek Fisher. Maybe count to 10 or take a deep breath or something.

Well, not too deep, because you've got your mouthpiece precariously placed in the middle of your open maw, which A) makes you look kind of like a xenomorph and B) could very easily result in a choking incident. And not the kind that sports writers around the world desperately want to continue pinning on LeBron James, except that he keeps doing awesome stuff. An actual one that will require the Heimlich maneuver. Nobody wants that; it makes everyone feel uncomfortable.

I don't know why you're so agitated at Dwyane Wade — perhaps he is a secret robot who stole and ate your old-people medicine for fuel — but if you keep it up, you are probably going to have one of your famous episodes. So let's just calm down and watch some nice "Matlock," or whatever it is that mature citizens enjoy in the 21st century. Sudoku or something.

What's got Fish so bent out of shape? Best caption wins the only insurance policy that protects you against the metal ones. Good luck.

In our last adventure: LeBron James catches a lift.

On one hand, I get it, miss. You are very excited to have been given a souvenir by LeBron James, and that makes sense.

You just watched the guy score 29 points and grab 14 rebounds in 44 minutes of work, leading the Miami Heat to a 91-85 home win in Game 3 on Sunday night, giving the Heat a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven NBA Finals. And then as he walked past you after chatting with ESPN's Doris Burke, he gave you that giant headband. A player two wins away from an NBA title who's in the midst of a phenomenal run of form — through 21 contests this postseason, James has averaged 30.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and five assists per game; only two players in NBA history have averaged 30-9-5 for a postseason, according to Basketball-Reference.com, and if he finishes there in the next week and a half, he'll be the first one to do it twice — just gave you a piece of memorabilia worn in what has to be on the short list of The Biggest Games Of His Life. Of course you are thrilled!

But ... y'know ... maybe just hold it? Or put it in your bag or something? Again: 44 minutes of work. Given how much LeBron sweats on the court, the degree to which he exerted himself on the offensive end, on the glass and in defending Kevin Durant during the fourth quarter of Game 3, and the size of that thing, a conservative estimate might ballpark the amount of perspiration in that headband at roughly one gallon.

I feel fairly certain that as soon as the cotton touched (and basically eclipsed) this young lady's forehead, she instantly regretted her decision. But still: Pretty cool token of the MVP's appreciation. Just make sure you get some extra face wash up there this morning. (And this afternoon. And tonight.)

Video via tsandford.

Hubie Brown credits the man upstairs. I credit the guy in the 'COOL' shirt. (Getty Images)

A look around the league and the web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out.

C: Sports Illustrated. "The first time I met Hubie Brown, here's what he said to me: 'Your magazine ruined my f---ing life.'" Jack McCallum writes about why legendary NBA coach-turned-ESPN/ABC color commentator Hubie Brown is the greatest. This is peanut butter and chocolate and a nice, tall glass of milk, friends. (Seriously: That's the LEDE. It only gets better from there.)
PF: The Onion. America's Greatest News Source explains why we hate LeBron James. It's funny because it — all of it — is true.
SF: The Classical. What, you thought just because FreeDarko closed up shop (RIP), we weren't going to get 2011-12 FreeDarko Player Rankings? Well, you thought wrong, Slick. Bask in the dominance of Rondo, be somewhat surprised by the exalted spot of Stephen Curry, find yourself disgusted by the placement of Carmelo Anthony. Drink deep of the dark psychosocial sciences at work.
SG: Grantland, The Point Forward and The New York Times. OK, I cheated. Sebastian Pruiti, Zach Lowe and Rob Mahoney — three of the smartest basketball dudes in this bloggin' thing — explain why this "playing two bigs at the same time when Miami's going small" thing isn't working for the Oklahoma City Thunder at the start of games, like, at all, and why Scott Brooks should consider switching up his starting five before Game 3. All must-reads before Sunday.
PG: Justine's Inside Voice. A plea for LeBron James to never stop driving: "We as spectators all know, every team knows, every coach knows, every player knows, and apparently after tonight, LeBron knows that when LeBron goes to the hole with the basketball, he can. not. be. stopped. Period."