On Tuesday night, the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Eastern-conference-leading Heat 107-99 in Miami.
It is undoubtedly one of the best wins of the season for Dallas (34-24), as Miami (37-21) is seen as a legitimate title contender.
Luka Doncic made just 5-of-19 (26.3%) shot attempts but still finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists. Doncic has struggled against the Heat in the past, averaging 20.7 points-per-game in seven games against Miami in his career, his lowest scoring average against any team.
In those contests, Doncic makes an average of 39.5% of his total shot attempts. This means the Heat are one of only two teams to hold Doncic to a shooting percentage below 40% in head-to-head matchups.
The Heat double-teamed Doncic all night on Tuesday, as their clear focus was to force someone else to beat them. Doncic responded by making several key passes out of double-teams, leading to open shots for his teammates.
“Luka did a great job of just absorbing the double team and making the right play, kind of getting that hockey assist tonight,” Dallas Head Coach Jason Kidd said. “The patience that Luka had is just incredible for a 22-year-old to be able to play that way.”
Doncic entered the game on fire, having scored 129 points in the team’s last three games, the most by any Mavericks player over a three-game stretch in franchise history.
The Mavericks did not need a big scoring night from Doncic against Miami as the role players stepped up. New additions to the team via the Kristaps Porzingis trade made their debut this game and provided a much-needed boost to the Dallas bench.
Davis Bertans checked into the game for the first time with two minutes remaining in the first quarter and immediately made an impact. The 29-year old Bertans got on the board with a three-point shot just one minute into the second quarter. Thirty seconds later, he knocked down another three-pointer. Bertans added six more points in the third quarter and finished the game with 12 points in just 13 minutes of action, making 3-of-7 three-point attempts.
“Luka’s a guy that has the ball in his hands a lot and [gets] a lot of attention,” Bertans said. “Once he starts sharing the ball from that, it just opens the game so easy.”
The scoring by Bertans was surprising, given that in his last month with the Washington Wizards, he only appeared in five games and scored a combined total of eight points.
The other addition via the Porzingis trade, Spencer Dinwiddie, added four points, two rebounds, five assists, and one steal in 23 minutes of action.
Dallas was shorthanded, playing without regular starter Reggie Bullock and reserve players Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss, who were all dealing with injuries. Second-year player Josh Green got the nod to start the game in Bullock’s place. Doncic, Jalen Brunson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Dwight Powell joined Green in the starting lineup.
The Heat took advantage of the Mavericks’ small lineup early in the game by attacking the paint. Miami’s All-Star center, Bam Adebayo, excelled in the first half, with 21 points at halftime. The Heat opened up a lead as big as 13 points in the second quarter. Still, the Mavericks battled to keep the score within single digits, and at halftime, Miami led 59-51. The Heat had a massive advantage inside, outscoring the Mavericks 32-8 in the paint in the first half.
Coach Kidd had to make adjustments at the halftime break, or else Miami would keep dominating inside, and he did. Maxi Kleber, at 6’10”, started the second half in place of the 6’6″ Green and wound up having his best game of the season. Kleber finished with a season-high 19 points and added six rebounds and five blocks. Kleber and Brunson combined for 19 points in the fourth quarter, and each made a crucial three-pointer in the last two minutes of the game.
Dallas outscored Miami 30-19 in the third quarter to flip the game in their favor and enter the fourth with a three-point lead. The Mavericks opened a lead as big as 10 points in the fourth quarter and held the Heat off down the stretch thanks to improved defense and the crucial three-pointers from Kleber and Brunson. Brunson finished with 19 points, six assists, and four rebounds.
Dallas could have put the game away earlier, but they failed to convert from the free-throw line consistently. The Mavericks made only 21-of-33 (63.6%) foul shots. This could come back to bite them in future close games, but against Miami, they got away with it.
