Slowly but surely, Dallas continues to sink after another setback in Miami marked by a still glaring lack of investment in defense, which ended with a 25th loss on the road, the 41st of the season which could well put a end to the play-in hopes of Mark Cuban’s proteges.
The Mavericks had a thunderous start with a heat stroke from Tim Hardaway Jr, author of three 3-point baskets and a dunk on the floor where his father shone from 1996 to 2001 (15-22).
The problem is that this affront aroused the pride of the Heat players, who responded in stride with style. Jimmy Butler scored three times in turn, then with the help of the outside address of the Vincent-Strus tandem, Miami was able to pass an 11-0 to finish the first act at +13 (44-31).
Against all expectations, it was then veterans Kevin Love and Cody Zeller who allowed the locals to increase the gap against a very permissive Dallas defense. The two interiors took the opportunity to treat and swell the gap (66-48). He flirted with 20 points until Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving resumed service to limit the damage before the break (76-64).
Kyrie Irving revived hope for a while by bringing his own to -7 (78-71), until the Floridians took to the open again, again through Cody Zeller, accompanied by two missiles at 3 -points from Max Strus (91-75). At 3-points, the Doncic-Hardaway Jr-Kleber trio kept the suspense going by bringing Dallas down to -6 at the end of the third quarter (102-96).
Except that Miami has never lowered its foot, or rather that Dallas has never managed to tighten the screw in defense. Result: the yo-yo continued until the end, with a 3-pointer from Tyler Herro followed by that of Gabe Vincent at the conclusion of a great offensive movement to revive the machine (112-101). A 3-pointer from Kevin Love and three baskets including a dunk from Jimmy Butler finished off the Mavs to win 129-122.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The immediate reaction of the Heat. Abused for five minutes, the Floridians reacted immediately by making the rain fall to pass 29 points in just under seven minutes and change the course of the match definitively, since Dallas did not regain the lead afterwards. The icing on the cake, Miami thus achieved its best first quarter of the season with 44 points scored!
– Who believed it? The weak point of the Mavericks is recurrent and identified by all. While the Texas franchise is back to the wall, one could believe in a burst of pride on the defensive level. But at no time did Dallas seem able to reverse the trend on this plan, leaving the feeling that the two teams could still have played until dawn without Dallas managing to change the course of the meeting.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Jimmy Butler. His fifth game in a month with more than 30 points, this time again with remarkable accuracy in his shots but also in his choices since he also distinguished himself with his 12 assists for zero lost ball. Great art.
✅ Cody Zeller. The chef’s surprise at the end of the season on the Miami side, where the “Warrior” Zeller delivered his match despite his broken nose forcing him to wear a protective mask. He often combined perfectly with Jimmy Butler and shone in his finisher register near the circle.
✅ Luka Doncic. Still a big line of stats with 42 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, but all the same the impression that he plays like a robot without really worrying about what surrounds him. He managed a few individual exploits, almost all punctuated by remonstrances towards the refereeing corps, but never seemed able to instil a real state of mind of revolt within his team.
⛔ The Mavericks defense. Even when Luka Doncic passes the 40-point mark and Tim Hardaway Jr the 30-point mark, and the team shoots over 60% success, Dallas loses. Contrary to what Jason Kidd explained recently, basketball is not just about trying to score more than the opponent…
THE FOLLOWING
Miami (41-37) : last road trip in sight for the Heat which will attack four away games, starting with Detroit on Tuesday (01:00).
Dallas (37-41) : the Mavericks continue in Atlanta tonight (00:00).
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D= defensive rebound; T = Total Bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Points = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
