Final: Heat 93, Mavs 90
Box Score | Highlights
Behind the Box Score
Despite shooting only 37.5 percent in the second quarter, Dallas still scored 1.087 points per possession. To put that into context, the league average for PPP hovers around 1.02, meaning the Mavs actually had an above-average showing despite shooting a low clip. Dallas did so by shooting seven free throws, grabbing five offensive rebounds, and turning it over just twice in the frame. It’s proof that even if the shots aren’t falling, an offense can still generate points efficiently by doing everything else right — creating extra chances, getting to the line, and taking care of the ball. Making shots is obviously pretty important, but there’s a lot more to basketball than just that.
Dirk Nowitzki reached the 25-point plateau for the seventh time this season. Dallas is now 6-1 in those games.
Notebook
Something happened at halftime. After a 2-of-7 start from the field in the first half for Nowitzki, he hit five of his seven attempts in the third quarter alone. We’ve seen it about a million times by now, but there’s still something pretty incredible about watching Nowitzki ignite, especially following a stretch of cold shooting. It’s almost like at halftime he changed the difficulty setting back to Rookie mode, where it seems like he’s stayed his entire career. When his jumper is falling, he still makes the game look so easy, and that was the case in the third quarter. He ended up with 28 points to lead the team. The Mavs rode their pony hard tonight and, as always, he didn’t let them down.
With both Deron Williams and Devin Harris out due to injury, some serious playing time was available, and Justin Anderson was on the receiving end. The rookie intercepted a pass in the second quarter and took it the length of the floor for a dunk. During one sequence in the fourth quarter, he chased down Justise Winslow in the halfcourt and blocked his shot at the rim, and on the other end he nailed a corner three-pointer to bring the Mavs to within one point. He finished with five points, seven rebounds and two vicious block in 22 minutes, the second-most of his career. Rick Carlisle suggested Harris could miss more games following this one, meaning those same minutes could again be available to Anderson moving forward. The rookie certainly helped his own case tonight, making a few hustle plays and appearing comfortable on both ends of the floor.
Chandler Parsons was electric in the first half, scoring 12 points, grabbing six boards, and dishing out three assists. He scored nine of Dallas’ first 11 points of the game all in the first four minutes, attacking the basket in the halfcourt and pulling up for a three-pointer in transition.
Raymond Felton was instrumental in getting the Mavericks back into the game after trailing at one point in the fourth quarter 82-75. Felton scored eight of his nine points in the final frame, mostly coming off rim attacks. He’s been big late in games for the Mavericks for most of this season, and he continued it in this one.
What’s Next
The Mavs (28-24) play the San Antonio Spurs (40-8) Friday at American Airlines Center. Tip-off is at 8:30 p.m. Central.
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