They’ve all run out of adjectives, really.

“He’s unbelievable,” Goran Dragic said after another Dwyane Wade 30-point masterpiece on Monday.

“Dwyane Wade has been spectacular,” Charles Barkley, often begrudging in his praise of Wade, conceded on TNT at 2 in the morning Tuesday.

Luol Deng and others settled for more mundane words such as “great” to describe the franchise-record-setting 34th 30-point playoff game of Wade’s career, which broke a tie with LeBron James.

Wade’s playoff run --- he has scored by far the most baskets of any player this NBA postseason entering Tuesday night --- feels a little like what we witnessed during some of those Heat playoff appearances in the pre-LeBron era.

And unless multiple teammates erupt on Wednesday, Wade likely will need to prop this group on his shoulders and carry the Heat in Game 5 of its second-round series against Toronto, which is tied at two wins apiece.

“I’m as confident as I’ve been all season right now,” Wade said. “Every other day we’re playing and it is very taxing. I love that every time I come out on the court, I feel as good as I did the last game. It allows me to play the game that I love the way that I can. I’m having fun. At this time of year, I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.”

During Game 4, Wade said Chris Bosh "kept coming up to me, and he kept saying, ‘If we’re going to go out, I want to go out with you having the ball.' He kept telling me to be aggressive.”

For perspective on what Wade is accomplishing, consider:

• His back-to-back 30-point games (38 in Game 3, 30 in Game 4) marked the first time he has achieved that in postseason since doing it three games in a row in April 2010.

• Prior to Game 3, he had reached 30 points in only one of his previous 63 playoff games (dating to 2012), largely because James and Bosh were often alongside to share the scoring load.

• During this postseason run, Wade has passed Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Scottie Pippen, Dirk Nowitzki and Magic Johnson to move into 13th on the NBA’s all-time playoff scoring list. He is 32 points from tying Hakeem Olajuwon for 12th place.

• Wade leads the NBA with 99 made field goals this postseason. Kevin Durant was second with 84 entering Tuesday’s Thunder-Spurs game. Wade also entered Tuesday with by far the most unassisted made field goals this postseason (80), well ahead of No. 2 Russell Westbrook (60).

• Wade this week became only the 15th player in NBA history to score 30 or more points in multiple playoff games at 34 or older. That’s more than Barkley, Larry Bird, Tim Duncan (entering Tuesday), Oscar Robertson, Shaquille O’Neal, Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin McHale and Paul Pierce had in their careers at 34-plus.

The top three, all time: Michael Jordan with 22, Kareem-Abdul Jabbar (20) and Reggie Miller (12).

• Wade’s stats in this series (27.3 points, 49.4 percent shooting) are nearly identical to what he averaged in this same round (against Brooklyn) during the Heat’s 2006 championship run (27.6 points on 48.9 percent shooting).

Heat guard Tyler Johnson remembers watching Wade during his torrid 2006 playoff run from his couch as a 14-year old in California, admiring Wade because “I was always a Dwyane Wade fan when I was younger” but rooting against the Heat because “I didn't want [Shaquille O’Neal] to get one because he left the Lakers. I was a big Lakers fan.”

A decade later, Johnson gets to witness Wade’s artistry up close, and “it seems like every time we get into a situation where it's close or we need a play made or we need a bucket, he makes it. You almost feel it coming. That's what I didn't know until I really got here.”

The roots for this run were planted last summer, when Wade changed trainers (from Tim Grover to Dave Alexander), lost 10 pounds and immersed himself in a grueling conditioning program that focused on strengthening his core. The behind-the-scenes efforts have continued all season, with Erik Spoelstra noting that Wade puts in three hours of work off the court for every hour on the court.

The upshot has been improved durability (Wade missed only seven games because of injury this season) and sustained excellence into May.

“This is probably the hardest he has worked,” Spoelstra said. “He’s getting stronger.”

Moments like Monday make all of that work well worth it.

“I worked my tail off this summer to get my body to the point where I can go play the game that I love at an elite level and not worry about my age or anything,” he said. “Some days I don’t want to do it, but when you have games like I’ve been able to put together, it makes you want to continue to do the things so you can feel as good as possible while you’re on the court. I know when I’m healthy that I can play this game as good as anybody. Whenever I’m tired I go back to those moments when I didn’t want to be working out.”

Then Wade delivered the kicker: “Somebody has to pay for it,” he said of all that off-court preparation. “That’s my mentality.”

THIS AND THAT

• Hassan Whiteside, sidelined with a Grade 1 sprained MCL in his right knee, won't travel to Toronto for Game 5.

"He will stick around here and do therapy and rest," Spoelstra said today.

• Spoelstra, on a Brian Windhorst ESPN report of "uneasy tension" between Wade and Dragic: "It's silly. Goran and Dwyane, not only are they playing much better with each other, which takes time --- they're both aggressive ball dominant players --- but they enjoy each other. They enjoy when the other guy is able to be aggressive. They want each other to be able to play their games. And it's getting better."

Of controversial reports about the Heat, Spoelsta said: "We're used to it. Before playoffs even started 3 1/2 weeks ago, we said it brings out everything. A lot of noise. When you lose, there will be a lot of surprising storylines and narratives out there and you just have to be able to laugh at it."

Windhorst said the tension results from both needing the ball to be at their best. "The Heat has to make a decision: Will it be Dragic at the controls or Wade and I honestly think they're better on the long haul with Dragic," Windhorst said on ESPN on Monday. "It's a huge decision for Spoelstra going forward... That will end up determining the outcome of this series."

• Wade and Heat players were just as amazed as anyone else when Wade's shot attempt with 59 seconds left in overtime settled atop the back iron and didn't move. The Heat lost the ensuing jump ball at midcourt.

"I expect that to happen on the road, but not at home," Wade said. "I'm going to try that next time I'm in the gym and see if I can do that again. I have no idea how that ball stayed right there. I was shocked. When I let it go I said, 'This is a six-point lead.' The game wanted to continue to keep playing."

Goran Dragic said: "I've never seen that before in my life. D drove the ball well, he shot it well and the ball just stopped on the rim. Probably if someone would open the door in the arena, it would probably blow in. It's just one of those unfortunate shots."

Justise Winslow said he wanted to slap the backboard "but it's probably illegal." Yes it is, so good thing he didn't.

• Wade apologized late Monday night for continuing to shoot through the early portion of the Canadian National Anthem in Game 3. He did it because of his pre-game shooting routine and didn't expect the Anthem to start as quickly as it did because the pre-game formatting was changed from the games in Canada. He was standing in line for the start of the anthem on Monday.

Asked Tuesday what kind of reaction he expects Wade to get in Toronto, Spoelstra said: "I don't know. I know Dwyane and I know he's what you want out of a professional. He's very respectful. You saw how it was misinterpreted and we all made the change yesterday.... It was a misinterpretation."

• Miami made only one of 15 three-point shots in Game 4. Over the last four seasons, only one other team won a playoff game in which it hit fewer than two three-pointers: Memphis against Portland last year (1-for-14). In this century, teams making fewer than two three-point field goals have a 30-59 record in the playoffs, according to Elias. "We're trying to break records of how few threes we can make after last night," Spoelstra cracked as part of an answer about the greatness of Steph Curry.

• Here was that Spoelstra answer on Curry being named NBA MVP in a unanimous vote: "He's redefining how this game is being played, not only leaguewide but at the youth level.... You would never even think of ever attempting 15 threes as an individual in a game and be able to make as many threes as he does, the passing, all of that. That's his greatness, the change he's making on the game. It's exciting for the game."

• Spoelstra, on Tyler Johnson, who in Game 4 played his first meaningful (non-blowout) minutes since shoulder surgery in January, closing with two points in five minutes: "I liked his minutes. He didn't get into a great flow but the things he can provide: the quickness, the energy with or without the ball. He's a great cutter. He also can have an impact defensively with quickness with some of the lineups Toronto puts out there."

Twitter: @flasportsbuzz