Mavericks-Heat Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Jan 02 2013 12:04AM

The Miami Heat have hardly looked like one of the NBA's elite teams in recent games, but they played much better than the Dallas Mavericks when the past two league champions met less than two weeks ago.

As they return home from a lackluster trip Wednesday night, the Heat will try to earn a fourth consecutive win over the struggling Mavericks.

Miami (21-8) endured back-to-back losses for only the second time this season during its four-game trek, falling 109-99 to Detroit on Friday and 104-85 to Milwaukee the next evening. The Heat appeared headed for a third straight defeat Monday when they trailed by double digits late in the third quarter against an injury-plagued Orlando team, but they rallied for a 112-110 overtime win.

"This is a winning league," LeBron James said. "It's not about how close you came to losing or how close you came to winning."

James had 10 of his 36 points in the extra period and finished two rebounds shy of a triple-double. Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade each topped 20 points while Ray Allen added 17 off the bench.

Miami's reserves are averaging just 19.2 points over the last five games, though, after previously contributing 29.8 per contest. The Heat have also allowed three straight opponents to top 100 points, matching their longest such streak this season.

"We can do a lot better. We know that. There's some adjustments we are going to have to make. We have to look at ways we can improve," Bosh said. "Eventually, we will get better. We have to stay with it. Hopefully, we'll turn that corner soon."

The Mavericks (13-19) are hoping they're close to doing the same after snapping a six-game losing streak with a 103-94 win at league-worst Washington on Tuesday, although they had to rally from an early 14-point deficit.

Vince Carter scored a team-best 23 points in his second start this season while Dirk Nowitzki reached double figures for the first time in five games since returning from offseason knee surgery. Nowitzki had 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting after averaging 7.5 and making 11 of 34 shots (32.4 percent) in his previous four contests.

Dallas had lost by an average margin of 19.1 points during its skid, which began with a 110-95 home loss to Miami on Dec. 20.

"The locker room is miserable. The coaches are miserable when we lose, so it definitely is one we wanted to get," Nowitzki said Tuesday. "Losing is not something we're used to in this franchise, in this organization."

Nowitzki, the NBA finals MVP in Dallas' six-game victory over Miami in 2011, has scored 20 or more points in each of his last 20 games against the Heat, including the postseason. Last season's finals and league MVP, meanwhile, has a streak of his own going.

James has scored at least 20 points in all 29 games of 2012-13, the second-longest such run to open a season since the NBA-ABA merger. He had 24 on 9-of-13 shooting in Dallas last month.

With Nowitzki sitting out, no Mavericks starter had more than 12 points in that loss and rookie Jae Crowder had a team-best 15. Nowitzki scored 25 points in Dallas' most recent visit to Miami on March 29, but none of his teammates had more than 12 in a 106-85 defeat.

James scores 32, Heat beat Mavs in OT, 119-109

By TIM REYNOLDS
Posted Jan 02 2013 11:35PM

MIAMI (AP) Once the Miami Heat found a way to rally in the final moments of regulation, they made overtime look easy.

LeBron James scored 32 points and finished one assist shy of a triple-double, Dwyane Wade scored 27 and the Heat pulled off both early and late before beating the Dallas Mavericks 119-109 in overtime Wednesday night.

Down 100-94 with 3:02 remaining in regulation, the Heat closed the game on a 25-9 run - and sent Dallas to its sixth loss in as many overtime games this season.

"We have ultimate confidence in our team, our talent level, our execution," said Chris Bosh, who scored 17 points for Miami. "And we believe in each other. To know we can be down by six with 3 minutes left and still have the confidence to overcome everything and get the job done, it works out great."

Ray Allen added 15 for Miami, which extended its Eastern Conference-leading record to 22-8 despite trailing by 12 in the opening minutes. James had 12 rebounds and nine assists for the Heat, who scored the first seven points of overtime.

O.J. Mayo scored 30 and Dirk Nowitzki - still working his way back from knee surgery - added 19 in 29 minutes for the Mavericks.

"It shouldn't have gotten to overtime," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "We were up six with a couple minutes to go and our inability to keep them out of the paint was our downfall."

Vince Carter had 15 points, Chris Kaman scored 14 and Darren Collison finished with 11 for Dallas.

Allen hit a 3-pointer to start overtime, James scored on a stepback over Nowitzki and Wade came up with a steal and dunk to put Miami up 110-103 early in the extra session, and the Heat weren't in trouble again. James sealed it with a three-point play with 48.6 seconds left.

"Don't take anything away from Dallas," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "They played a very good basketball game. It's not as if we were necessarily letting them score. It was highly competitive at both ends."

Dallas looked to be in control when Nowitzki rattled home a 3-pointer with 3:37 left in regulation, putting the Mavericks up 100-94.

Appearances were deceiving.

Late in regulation, James set up Shane Battier - who had missed all three of his previous shots in the game - for a 3 that put Miami up 103-101. James went to Battier at one point in the second half and urged him to keep shooting when he had opportunities.

Little did they know Battier would get such a crucial chance.

"The right basketball play," said James, who finished exactly one assist shy of a triple-double for the 12th time.

Dallas didn't call time-out, and Nowitzki scored from the right side of the lane to tie the game with 3.9 seconds remaining. James missed a contested jumper as time expired, and off to overtime they went.

From there, all Miami.

"That's the NBA. We're not that dominant where we can come in and blow every team out," Wade said. "You've got to respect these other teams. They're good. They come in and play very well against us so we've got find ways to win ballgames. That's what it's all about right now."

James extended his streaks of scoring at least 20 points to 30 consecutive games this season, 35 regular-season games going back to last season and 51 straight games overall when including last season's playoff run.

The teams met two weeks ago in Dallas, a game where the Heat simply dominated start to finish and led by as many as 36.

This one was decidedly different.

Dallas was up 18-7 before Nowitzki even entered the game and led by as many as 12 late in the first quarter - thanks in part to the Mavericks grabbing 19 of the game's first 27 rebounds - and still held a 10-point lead when Mayo connected on a jumper midway through the second quarter. That's when the Heat put together its best run of the opening half, a 16-6 spurt led by James.

Still tied midway through the third, Miami seemed to have grabbed some control with a 14-5 run that gave the Heat a 78-69 edge. But the Mavs ripped off the next eight points, starting with a 3-pointer by Carter and then a 3-pointer and a layup by Nowitzki that got Dallas within a point again.

Dallas reclaimed the lead at 88-87 on a 3-pointer by Mayo midway through the fourth, and only a few moments after Wade chased down and blocked a layup try by Collision to keep Miami within three, Mayo struck again from beyond the arc in the left corner by the Heat bench to put the Mavs up 97-91 with 4:09 remaining.

They just couldn't finish the job.

"Execution down the stretch has been one of our problems all year," Nowitzki said. "We're 0-6 in overtime and lost a lot of close ones during the season in regulation. We've got to work on that."

NOTES: It was trophy night for James, who was presented with his USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year award by Heat President Pat Riley in a brief halftime ceremony. And just before tipoff, the NBA announced James was the Eastern Conference's player of the month for December. ... It was the 21st time Nowitzki played at Miami, and just the second game where he came off the bench while visiting the Heat. He also didn't start in his first-ever game at Miami in 1999. ... An errant pass by James struck a courtside cameraman in the third quarter. The man was tended to briefly for what appeared to be a small cut, and James went over to shake the photographer's hand.

Notebook: Heat 119, Mavericks 109, OT

Zachary Paul, For NBA.com
Posted Wed Jan 02, 2013 11:24 PM - Updated Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:07 PM

THE FACTS: The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks 119-109 in overtime Wednesday at AmericanAirlines Arena. LeBron James led the way with 32 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. The Heat (22-8) rallied from a six-point deficit with less than three minutes left to capture the victory. A 3-point shot by Shane Battier put Miami ahead 103-101 before Mavs (13-20) forward Dirk Nowitzki hit a short jump shot to force overtime.

The Heat dominated the extra session, outscoring Dallas 16-6. Guard Dwyane Wade finished with 27 points and a season-high 10 rebounds while center Chris Bosh added 17 points and four rebounds.

The Mavs were led by guard O.J. Mayo, who finished with 30 points on 12-for-21 shooting.

QUOTABLE: "What I liked about it is we were missing so many wide open 3-pointers the first half and then through three quarters, but we still found the trust to hit Shane [Battier] for a couple big ones and Ray [Allen] for a big one as well."

-- Heat coach Erik Spolestra

THE STAT: James, Bosh and Wade combined for 76 points. Things tend to favor the Heat when the trio scores at least 75.

TURNING POINT: The Heat opened overtime by scoring the first seven points, never trailing in the extra period. It was the second straight game Miami started strong in overtime.

QUOTABLE II: "It shouldn't have gotten to overtime. We were up six with a couple of minutes to go and our inability to keep them out of the paint was our downfall. In that position we [have] to be able to keep [LeBron James and Dwyane Wade] from getting to the rim, and they did two or three times."

--Mavs coach Rick Carlisle

HOT: James was once again in attack mode. For the second straight game, he was the Heat's spark in a comeback. He was the catalyst when Miami closed the gap in the second quarter and then was the difference in overtime.

NOT: Vince Carter and Shawn Marion had off nights, with both struggling from the field. Carter finished 1-for-8 from the 3-point arc while Marion provided little on the offensive end.

GOOD MOVE: This will go down as a game where the Heat received contributions from their core of Bosh, Wade and James; but Allen, Battier and Mario Chalmers all came up with big shots at key times.

BAD MOVE: The Mavericks were leaving the Heat shooters too open in the latter stages. They really had no choice, though. It was either that or defend James with one player.

NOTABLE: The Heat improved to 3-0 in overtime games. The Mavs fell to 0-6. ... Nowitzki played 30 minutes, the most since returning from preseason knee surgery. ... The Mavs are 1-10 when they allow at least 110 points. ... James scored at least 20 points for the 35th straight time. ... Battier leads Miami with 53 3-pointers.

UP NEXT: For the Heat, Friday vs. Bulls, Sunday vs Wizards, Tuesday @ Pacers. For the Mavericks, Saturday vs. Hornets, Monday @ Jazz, Wednesday @ Clippers.

• Mavericks: Cunningham, Wright
• Heat: Harris, Pittman

• Mavericks: Nowitzki
• Heat: --

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
• Officials: #19 James Capers, #56 Mark Ayotte, #42 Eric Lewis
• Attendance: 20102
• Duration: 2:34