Miami ? Dwyane Wade’s tender knee held up fine, and so did home-court advantage for the Miami Heat.

The NBA Finals aren’t over – not even close. They’ve only just begun.

Wade, barely able to walk on a badly banged-up left knee 24 hours earlier, scored 36 points, and big buddy Shaquille O’Neal added 17 and 13 rebounds as the Heat downed the Dallas Mavericks, 98-74, Thursday night to even the series 2-2.

“It’s not over,” Wade said. “We knew that leaving Dallas. It’s 2-2. We got a series now. And we got one more game at home, and take care of business at home.”

Remember a few days ago when Dirk Nowitzki and the runnin’ and gunnin’ Mavericks were in control and possibly on their way to a sweep?

Well, they’ve taken a Texas two-step sideways. The once-lopsided finals are a dead heat and guaranteed to be returning to Big D after Nowitzki managed only two field goals in Game 4 – a season low.

Wade, who saved Miami’s season with 42 points in an epic Game 3 comeback, followed up with a performance just as impressive. Although the lightning-quick guard didn’t have his usual bounce off the floor, he fired in jump shots from every corner of AmericanAirlines Arena, the South’s white house which will host Game 5 on Sunday.

“I think this is our first almost-good game,” O’Neal said. “We’re picking it up. Different series now, 2-2.”

Miami's Shaquille O'Neal, right, looks to shoot past the defense of Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki. The Heat defeated the Mavericks, 98-74, on Thursday night in Miami.

After two dominant double-digit victories at home, Dallas came to town thinking it could wrap things up on the road. The Mavericks had won their three previous playoff series away from home, including a dramatic Game 7 in San Antonio that went into overtime.

Now, the Mavs are somewhat of a wreck. They scored just seven points in the fourth quarter, a record low for the NBA Finals.

Jason Terry scored 17 points to lead Dallas and Nowitzki added 16, but rolled his left ankle taking a jumper with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter and favored it the rest of the way.

Leading by 10 points at half, the Heat pushed their lead to 20 midway through the third quarter when tempers flared after Jerry Stackhouse’s hard foul on O’Neal and Miami coach Pat Riley and Dallas’ Avery Johnson had to run on the floor to help restore order.

After Wade scored six straight points, O’Neal, criticized for not dominating in Games 1, 2 and 3 despite constant double-teaming, spun on the baseline for a three-point play to give Miami a 68-51 lead.

On a steal and breakaway, Miami’s Jason Williams waited for a trailing O’Neal, who as he was gathering himself for a backboard-bending dunk was knocked to the floor by Stackhouse – the Mavs forward risking life and limb by taking on the Deisel.

Face first on the floor, O’Neal attempted to get up and retaliate when Wade pushed down on his teammate as players on both teams exchanged dirty looks and dirtier words.

O’Neal made two free throws – he finished a 5-of-10 from the line – and two by Wade gave Miami a 20-point lead with 6:23 left in the period.

The Mavericks used an 8-0 run to close within 78-67 entering the fourth, but Miami finally put Dallas away with seven straight points, the last coming on Antoine Walker’s three-pointer with 4:21 left that made it 92-72.

That’s when Heat fans began stripping the white covers off their seat cushions and celebrated Miami’s 100th playoff game in style. Less than a minute later, Wade came out to a thundering ovation.

Wade picked up where he left off in Game 3, scoring 24 points in the first half as the Heat opened a 54-44 lead. He wasn’t Flash as much as he was Finesse, choosing to shoot jumpers rather than go airborne to the hole.

Wade didn’t appear to be slowed by the knee injury in the first quarter, scoring 14 points – nine on jump shots – as the Heat opened a 30-25 lead after one despite playing most of the period with O’Neal sitting on the bench with two fouls.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m going to be all right,” Wade said. “It feels a lot better today and I’m going to be good by Sunday.”

Only twice did Wade, wearing pads over both knees, dare drive to the basket on Dallas’ defense. Instead, he hung around the perimeter and took aim from the outside.

Riley, who has been effusive in praising O’Neal despite the big man’s un-Shaq-like numbers so far in the series, came to his defense again before the game. Dallas has devoted a cast of characters to try and stop O’Neal, who played in his 192nd career playoff game.

“If he’s one on one against anybody, c’mon,” Riley said. “He’s either going to score or get fouled.”

That was the case early on as O’Neal got fouled while scoring underneath for Miami’s first points, and moments later, he grabbed a rebound and dunked viciously, early signs he might try to dominate.

But he was on the bench less than three minutes later after picking up his second personal foul on a questionable call while taking a charge against Nowitzki. The Heat, though, kept it together without their All-World center – a trend that would continue all night.

Notes: Miami fans chanted “Da-vid Hassel-hoff” every time Nowitzki stepped to the line. Dallas’ star sings “Looking For Freedom,” before he shoots free throws. The song was a big hit – in Germany – when was Nowitzki was a kid. … Sammy Sosa, Anna Kournikova, Patrick Ewing and Daunte Culpepper were among the courtside celebrities. … The Heat are 51-49 all-time in the playoffs. … Mavericks owner Mark Cuban feels the NBA should be able to prevent any clock malfunctions like the two that cost Dallas nearly four seconds in Game 3. “It should have been caught and it should have been corrected,” he said. “Would it have made a difference? Who knows?” … It’s no secret that Wade and Cleveland’s LeBron James are close friends. James has been text messaging Wade with encouragement during the series. “We’re two of the front-running guys that a lot of people talk about,” Wade said, “myself and him and Carmelo (Anthony) and the other young guys in the 2003 draft. I mean, he (James) is younger than me – well, that’s what they say.”