Miami, FL
Mavericks vs Heat Preview: 3 things Dallas has to do to keep up their winning ways in Miami
The Dallas Mavericks (49-30) head to Miami for a date with the Heat (44-35) on Wednesday on the heels of Tuesday’s 130-104 win at the Charlotte Hornets. It’s the second night of a back-to-back set for both teams, as the Heat slid past the Hawks on Tuesday, 117-111, in double overtime.
The Mavericks beat the Heat in Dallas on March 7, 114-108, in the first of what has blossomed into 15 wins in Dallas’ last 17 games. Before breaking through against the Heat in the teams’ first meeting of the year, the Mavs had dropped five of six, but, oh, what a difference a month makes. Now Dallas is the NBA’s hottest team as the regular season winds down.
Luka Dončić led the Mavericks with 39 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in Tuesday’s win against Charlotte — his 22nd triple-double of the season and the 77th of his career. He broke Mark Aguirre’s single-season Mavericks scoring record in the process and now has 2,341 points this year. Daniel Gafford had one of those special Daniel Gafford nights with 26 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots, dominating the paint to score on all 12 of his shot attempts.
Miles Bridges led the way for Charlotte in the loss with 22 points and five boards, and rookie Brandon Miller added 21 and six.
Here are three things the Mavs need to do to extend their current win streak to five games when they touch down in Miami:
Take advantage of the rest advantage
It’s true, both teams are on the second night of a back-to-back, but Dallas and Miami earned their wins on Tuesday in very different fashion. Dončić played just 35 minutes in the win and just 3:37 in the fourth quarter at Charlotte before taking a seat for the night. Kyrie Irving played 37 minutes in the win.
For Miami, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro played 48 minutes apiece in the Heat’s double-overtime win, and Jimmy Butler logged 44 more. Odds are, the Miami Brain Trust will have wobblier legs when the fourth quarter rolls around on Wednesday than Dallas’ core contributors will.
Deal with Herro’s shooting and playmaking
When Dallas beat the Heat in Dallas, Herro sat out with an injured foot sustained in late February. His scoring and playmaking give Miami three solid offensive options alongside Butler and Adebayo. Herro is matching his career-high mark in scoring this season, averaging 20.7 points per game.
Though he shot just 4-for-13 from deep Tuesday, he went off to lead the Heat with 33 points and five rebounds on 13-of-25 shooting from the field. He had success in the mid-range game and got to the basket effectively as well against the Hawks.
Trade deadline acquisition Terry Rozier Jr. (27 points, 11 assists, six boards) and sharpshooter Duncan Robinson (19 points) led the charge for Miami against the Mavs in the teams’ first meeting of the year, but neither played Tuesday night against the Hawks. They combined to shoot 10-of-18 from 3-point range to keep Miami close in the Mavs’ win in March.
Robinson didn’t feel like himself after returning from a recent back injury and was ruled out of Tuesday’s game with no announced timeline for return, according to the Miami Herald. Rozier is reportedly dealing with a neck injury. It’s unclear at the time of this writing whether either will suit up on Wednesday.
Get good minutes from the second team
The Mavs’ bench shot 15-of-26 from the field against the Hornets (19-60) on Tuesday, but against stiffer competition, that kind of production has been harder to come by this season. In the Mavericks’ four previous games, the bench shot just 26-of-82 (31.7%) from the field, including two particularly troubling performances against the Golden State Warriors, when non-starters shot a combined 11-of-38 (28.9%) from the floor.
Keeping their head above water in the non-Luka minutes will be key for the Mavs at Miami on Wednesday. The Heat are a playoff team (most likely a play-in team) defending their home court with a chance to catch the Philadelphia 76ers for the 7-seed in the East, and the Mavs don’t need to make Dončić and Irving do it all by themselves.
BONUS: Standings watch
Entering Wednesday’s action, the Mavericks are still sitting in fifth place in the Western Conference playoff race. Tuesday’s 105-92 win for the Los Angeles Clippers against the Phoenix Suns guarantees the Mavs no worse than a sixth-place finish. There’s not much hope of leap-frogging the Clippers for the 4-seed at this point, though.
One win in the season’s final three games clinches the 5-seed for Dallas, as would one loss from the New Orleans Pelicans. It’s looking more and more like the Mavs will face the Clips in the first round of the playoffs.
Is that a matchup anyone has any interest in? We’re thinking yes.
Miami, FL
City of Miami celebrates reopening of Flagler Street as part of beautification project
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Miami, FL
Shooting in northwest Miami-Dade leaves man in critical condition, sheriff’s office says
An investigation is underway at a northwest Miami-Dade apartment complex after the sheriff’s office said a man was shot by his girlfriend after a “heated dispute” early Wednesday morning.
Few details have been released, but the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said the incident took place at an apartment complex located off Northwest 7th Avenue.
The sheriff’s office said that a man became involved in a “heated dispute” with his girlfriend, and she shot him in the right arm.
He was rushed to a hospital by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue in critical condition.
The woman is in custody.
The identities of those who were involved have not yet been released.
No other information was available.
Miami, FL
Miami Heat-Brooklyn Nets Injury Report, Betting Lines, How to Watch, Lineups & More
Game date, time and location: Tuesday, Mar. 3, 7:30 p.m. EST, Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Sun, YES Network (Brooklyn)
Radio: 104.3 FM (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale), ESPN 106.3 FM, (West Palm Beach), FOX Sports Radio 105.9 FM (Ft. Myers/Naples), 1450 AM (Suart), 97.7 FM (Florida Keys), WAQI 710 AM (Spanish-language broadcast, South Florida), WFAN 101.9 FM/660 AM (Brooklyn)
VITALS: The Miami Heat (32-29) and Brooklyn Nets (15-45) meet for the second of three regular season matchups. Earlier this season, Miami recorded a, 106-95, win in Brooklyn on December 18 and has now won four of the last five overall against the Nets.
It also marks the first of consecutive games against Brooklyn with the teams facing each other again on Thursday. The Heat are 83-61 all-time versus the Nets during the regular season, including 44-26 in home games and 39-35 in road games.
PROJECTED STARTERS
HEAT
G Davion Mitchell
G Tyler Herro
C Bam Adebayo
F Pelle Larsson
F Andrew Wiggins
NETS
G Nolan Traore
G Terance Mann
C Nic Claxton
F Michael Porter Jr.
F Noah Clowney
INJURY REPORT
HEAT
Davion Mitchell: Questionable – Shoulder
Norman Powell: Out – Groin
Nikola Jovic: Out – Back
Trevor Keels: Available – G League
Jahmir Young: Available – G League
Vlad Goldin: Available – G League
Terry Rozier: Out – Not with team
NETS
Nic Claxton: Probable – Thumb
Egor Demin: Out – Foot
QUOTABLE
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra: “Regardless of the scheme is, I always go back to that, it’s just about committing to doing hard things. We were really moving in the zone, taking away airspace and scrambling to challenge shots at the rim. In a lot of these losses in the last month we’ve just been giving up shots at the rim and threes.”
For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.
Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket
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