On Wednesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers looked like the worse team during their heavyweight clash against the team with the best record in the association, the Boston Celtics. But there’s a reason why the game of basketball is played for four quarters and a total of 48 minutes. The Cavs, despite facing a 20-point deficit with nine minutes remaining in the contest, came roaring back thanks in large part to the clutch gene of Dean Wade.
Wade, who got heavy fourth quarter minutes after Evan Mobley exited the game with an ankle injury, came to the rescue, dropping 20 points in the final frame. The Cavs forward, who got the nickname “Venom” from Shaquille O’Neal after he went “crazy”, making all five of his three-point attempts while also hammering home the two-handed putback slam that gave them the game-clinching 105-104 lead.
And in the process of being the Cavs’ hero against the Celtics on Wednesday night, Dean Wade was able to channel his inner Black Mamba. According to OptaSTATS via ClutchPoints Twitter, Wade became the first player since Kobe Bryant in 2002 to score 20 points while shooting 100 percent from the field and outscoring the opposition entirely (the Celtics only put up 17 in the final frame) in the fourth quarter while leading a team to a comeback victory from a deficit of 20 points or greater.
While that is an oddly specific set of statistics, this just goes to show how historic Wade’s fourth quarter outburst was. If it were easy, everyone would be able to do it, but it has taken over two decades for someone to replicate the feat, which was accomplished by one of the greatest to ever lace up on the hardwood.
Kobe Bryant was able to accomplish the aforementioned feat on December 6, 2002 against the Dallas Mavericks; he led the Los Angeles Lakers all the way from a 27-point deficit to win, 105-103, by scoring 21 points on 8-8 shooting from the field.
With Evan Mobley looking likely to miss time and Donovan Mitchell still on the mend, there is an opportunity for an unheralded Cavs player to step up. It looks like Dean Wade will be the guy to do so.