MIAMI – The folks in North Texas weren’t available to join in on the celebration, but the Dallas Mavericks did enough
celebrating themselves after they defeated the Miami Heat, 111-92, on Wednesday night at the Kaseya Center to capture the Southwest Division title.
It was the fifth divisional title for the Mavs as they won for the 15th time in their last 17 games while continuing to play inspirational basketball at both ends of the floor. In addition, the Mavs won their 50th game of the season – they’re 50-30 – with two games remaining.
“I think we checked the box on one goal in being able to (win the division),” coach Jason Kidd said. “And then on a back-to-back, I thought the offense was at a high level.
“We came out and we were aggressive. And then our defense, again, to be able to hold an NBA team like the Heat under 100 points, that just shows where our defense is right now.”
In addition to the divisional title, the Mavs know they’ll be playing a first-round Western Conference best-of-seven playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers (51-29). But where that series will start has yet to be determined.
The magic number for the Clippers to have home-court advantage is one — any combination of one Mavericks’ loss or one Clippers’ win in the remaining two games for each team. Either way, the Mavs know that with the way they’re playing right now, they have just as good a chance as any team to win the NBA title this season.
“We have different adjustments we can make – we’ve shown it over the past few games,” guard Kyrie Irving said. “I think now it’s just kind of about staying silent and getting ready for a team building whatever game plan they have for us and whatever we have in the first round.
“We are who we are and we’re ready to take on some challenges.”
Except for a brief moment early in the fourth quarter, the Heat didn’t pose much of a challenge for the Mavs, In fact, the Mavs held the Heat’s top two players – Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo – to a combined 20 points on 8-of-21 shooting.
Meanwhile, Mavs guard Luka Dončić picked up his third foul with 3:46 remaining in the first quarter and the Mavs nursing a slim, 20-18, lead. After Dončić went to the bench, Dante Exum and Irving immediately buried back-to-back three-pointers, forcing Miami to call a timeout.
Irving then nailed another three-pointer, and added a jumper at the first-quarter buzzer to stake the Mavs to a 33-24 lead. From there, Irving opened the second quarter by slithering inside for a basket.
Shortly thereafter, Irving nailed his third three-pointer and Tim Hardaway Jr. followed with a fast break dunk to increase the Mavs’ lead to 42-29.
“We just tried to make it tough and adjust to their pace tonight,” said Irving, who had 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting. “Both teams were coming off of back-to-backs, so we knew it could go either way just in terms of the pace.
“I think we got off to a decent start in that first quarter and then we never looked back.”
By the time Dončić got back on the court with 8:44 left before halftime, the Mavs had gone on a 22-11 run without him, with 13 of those points coming from Irving.
“I think it’s just the trust and chemistry that we have,” Kidd said. “When Luka got his third foul there was no panic. We brought in Kai, we extended the lead with the team that played defense at a high level.
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We felt like we were in control of the game – maybe (not) for five minutes that they took control. But I thought the response for our team tonight on a back-to-back just shows how far we’ve come since October.”
Indeed, the Mavs have come from a mighty long way. So far that the victory over the Heat was their 25th road win of the season, their most since they won 28 games away from American Airlines Center during the 2010-11 championship season.
“I think it’s just a special situation when you look at the overall from start to finish,” Kidd said. “We have two games left in the regular season, then we’ll prepare for the playoffs.”
Before then, decisions have to be made on what players to rest and what players to limit their minutes over the next two games. Josh Green was able to play for the first time since March 14 and finished with three points and four rebounds in 14 minutes.
But Kidd said backup center Dereck Lively II (right knee sprain) will not play before the playoff starts.
“I think we’re able to get some rest here,” Kidd said. “We’ll look when we get home about Friday, and then also Sunday and then we’ll go from there. It’s good to get some rest, but also sometimes you want to keep playing because of the rhythm of where we are as a team.”
Part of where the Mavs are has hinged on the play of center Daniel Gafford, who punished the Heat in the paint while protecting the rim. Gafford was 6-of-6 from the field and scored 12 points to go with five rebounds and three blocks, and has now converted his last 22 consecutive field goals.
“It’s amazing what Gaff has done when you look at his ability when he catches and he finishes,” Kidd said. “In some of the finishes, they weren’t just easy putbacks. He was falling down.
“His confidence around the rim and in the paint is at a high level. Being able to get offensive rebounds, and to be able to putback and fight through some of the contact just shows how talented he is.”
The Mavs built a 25-point lead in the second quarter, then saw Miami slice it down to 94-86 with 8:42 remaining on a bucket from downtown by Tyler Herro. From there, the Mavs regrouped, got a basket inside the paint from P.J. Washington, a free throw from Derrick Jones Jr., and a fallaway jumper from Dončić for a 99-86 lead after Gafford blocked a drive by Herro.
Dončić finished with 29 points, nine rebounds and nine assists as he continues with his push to win the league’s Most Valuable Player award. Meanwhile, a strong driving left-handed shot by Irving made it 105-90 Dallas with 2:43 left and all but started the celebration for the Mavs.
One player who definitely was celebrating was Washington, who scored just one point in his homecoming game in Charlotte on Tuesday, but bounced back and scored 12 points, grabbed six rebounds and collected a pair of steals against the Heat.
“Honestly, I wasn’t really too excited with my game (Tuesday) night, but we won,” Washington said. “I was happy we moved on to Miami and obviously got a win and a great team effort tonight, so I think we did well on both sides of the ball.
“Fifty wins is an exciting thing in this league. It’s not done by too many teams, so for us to be able to get 50 wins and obviously win our division is very strong. I’m excited where we’re at right now and I’m excited headed into the postseason.”
X: @DwainPrice
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