Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Miami Heat 91 at Dallas Mavericks 97
There's certainly a different vibe around the Dallas Mavericks these days.
The emergence of newcomers Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood have been two reasons for the positive change in demeanor. Another has been the Mavericks' fiery play of late.
After dropping their first game coming out of the All-Star break, the new-look Mavericks won back-to-back games against playoff contenders, the Phoenix Suns and the Orlando Magic. Saturday night, the Mavericks claimed their third straight victim, scoring a knockout with a 97-91 home win against a Miami Heat squad that was playing without All-Star Game MVP Dwyane Wade.
"I think we're playing tough and we're playing together," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said after the win. "These are all good teams, they're all playoff teams...Those are some good signs."
"This is the NBA, so you have to play with what you've got. Even though they didn't have D-Wade, we still had to go out there and take care of business. I think we did that," Haywood reflected.
Both teams were concluding stretches of four games in five nights. But the Mavericks continued their ownership of the Heat, winning their 12th straight regular season matchup with the Miami squad. The win not only snapped Miami's five-game winning streak, but it also gave the Mavericks their first three-game winning streak of 2010.
"I think we're getting better," forward Dirk Nowitzki said. "We're playing off of each other a lot better. If good players just play off each other and play unselfish and play together, we'll be okay...It's been fun."
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Mavericks looked to show the Wade-less Heat squad little sympathy early, out to claim the season series after a 106-93 road win on Dec. 11. The duo of Butler and Nowitzki gave the Mavericks a 10-2 lead out of the gates.
"Just being aggressive...Every team is going to key in on Dirk, so early on you try to do a lot of things to free him up," Butler said of his first quarter scoring burst. "And then he'll have the opportunity to really have man-to-man coverage and have his way with anybody.
"That's something I've learned playing with superstars -- Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, Gilbert (Arenas). If you get off to a good start, free them up, then they can have their way down the stretch. And that's exactly what he did tonight."
The two-time and nine-time All-Stars would combine to score Dallas' first 20 points on the night, but the Heat rallied to go in front with a 16-4 run sparked by Michael Beasley's full offensive package. The Heat eventually built up a 27-21 lead at the end of one. The Mavs found themselves in the early hole despite hitting on 10-of-18 shots, compared to the Heat's 10-of-22 shooting.
The second quarter began with an aggressive Shawn Marion attacking the basket for above-the-rim finishes. However, the Heat continued to hold the Mavericks off with timely scoring. With Daequan Cook catching fire, the Heat ran out to an eight-point lead. Not much went Dallas' way in the second, as even Jason Kidd's buzzer-beating, half-court heave found the bottom of net. But it was determined that the shot came after the half ran out, giving Miami a 52-44 edge heading into halftime.
Butler's 16 first half points and Nowitzki's 14 on a combined 12-of-18 shooting kept the Mavs in the game, but the rest of the team combined to shoot 4-for-20. The Heat out-shot the Mavericks in the half, 49 percent to 42 percent. A 26-18 edge in rebounding also paced the Heat to the early advantage, but the Mavericks' 0-for-8 shooting from behind the 3-point line greatly contributed to their deficit."I think our guys were mad and angry coming out at halftime," Carlisle said. "We knew we were getting outworked a little bit."
Nowitzki did his best to erase the Dallas disadvantage on his own early in the third. But the superstar soon got help from his teammates, including Kidd's play-making assist to Marion for a one-handed transition flush. The Mavs then took the lead, 66-64, on a Nowitzki jumper at the 3:03-mark of the period. With Marion lending Nowitzki a helping hand, the Mavs scored on nine straight possessions en route to a 19-5 run to end the quarter. All told, the Mavericks outscored the Heat 27-12 in the third, taking a 71-64 advantage into the final period. Miami's 12-point output was a season-low for a Dallas opponent in a quarter.
"The strength of our guys' resolve was there in the third quarter," Carlisle said.
But the Mavericks grew cold at the start of the fourth, with Kidd and Marion on the bench. As a result, Miami surged back ahead on the scoreboard. When the two returned to the court, fittingly it was Kidd who knocked down a three to put the Mavs back in front 76-74 with 5:58 remaining. The future Hall-of-Famer continued to look for his own shot in the fourth, nailing another three to put Dallas ahead 82-79 with 4:21 remaining.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
"(Kidd) won the game for us today, because we really had nothing going in the fourth. He hit those two threes in a row that gave us a nice little lead," Nowitzki said.
"I had some great looks," Kidd added. "My teammates found me behind the arch, and we made some big shots down the stretch that we needed. And got some stops when we needed to...For me, it's just find the open spot and be ready to shoot."
The Dallas defense then began to answer the call, turning stops into points at the other end for a 10-2 run. Still the Mavericks had to hold off a late charge from Cook and the Heat. Icing the game with clutch free throws in the final minute, the Mavericks did just that.
"It's a tight game...The team that makes the plays and is grittier is going to come away with it. We did what we had to do and it was good to see," Carlisle said.
The win gave the Mavericks their first winning streak of at least three games since a five-game streak from Dec. 8-16.
"We were struggling definitely there in the month of January and even in February before the break. So, this is definitely big for us," Nowitzki said.
"This is what you expect to do," Butler said. "Over here in Dallas, the goal is to win a championship. We're building something, and we're getting adjusted to each other and acquitted with each other on the fly. It's still a work in progress, but we're definitely doing a good job on the fly. So, you've got to give us a good grade for that."
Led by Nowitzki's game-high 28 points, all five Maverick starters scored in double figures. Kidd notched his 17th double-double of the season, scoring 21 points and dishing out 11 assists. Haywood also recorded a double-double, scoring 11 and grabbing 11 rebounds. Meanwhile, Butler posted his best scoring output as a Maverick, finishing with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Marion's 5-for-6 shooting night gave him 11 points for the game.
"We have a lot of guys we can go to. We have a lot of scorers out there. We're pretty explosive," Nowitzki said.
"It just shows how deep we are and how many guys can step up and knock down shots," Kidd add.
The Mavericks won the game despite Jason Terry's 0-for-10 night. With the sixth man's off night, the Dallas bench was outscored 46-6 by the Heat reserves. Cook led the Heat with 22 points off the bench.
"Our best bench player went 0-for-10," Carlisle said. "To be able to win a game with JET (Terry) going 0-for-10 says something for where we're at. I think it shows that not only do we have some other firepower on board, but on night's where we're not shooting it great, playing well defensively holds you in games."
The Heat finished the night slightly out-shooting the Mavs, 46 percent to 45 percent. Miami also out-rebounded Dallas 43-36, while outscoring the Mavericks in the paint 40-30. But the Mavericks forced 17 Heat turnovers, with only seven giveaways of their own.
"If you look at what we're doing defensively, we didn't have a great defensive night at 46 percent, but we held them to 91. We're playing better defensively, so that to me, this is over a four game span, is the sign of grit. Our club is really working together so we've got to continue with it," the coach concluded.
Now the Mavericks will prepare for the second and third games of a three-game home stand.
"We've got some fun challenges coming up," Nowitzki said.
The Mavs welcome in the Indiana Pacers on Monday night. Dallas escaped with a 113-92 blowout road win over the Pacers on Nov. 27. The Pacers-Mavericks matchup will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.
Dallas then plays host to the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night. The Lakers lead the season series 2-1, including a 100-95 win on the American Airlines Center floor on Jan. 13. The Mavericks and Lakers wrap up their regular season dual, with the game airing nationally on ESPN and locally on KTXA 21 and KTXA HD at 8 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.
For up to the minute news on the Dallas Mavericks, visit Mavs.com. Follow Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.
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