Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat were at home against Luka Doncic and the red-hot Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night. Miami came into this game amid a five-game winning streak with no signs of slowing down. That is until the Mavericks came to town. The Mavs have won 17 of their last 23 and now with the newly added duo of Davis Bertans and Spencer Dinwiddie, they look like a force to be reckoned with. The Heat were without both Caleb Martin and Tyler Herro, making it tough to have a spark from the second unit.
Heating Up
Miami started the game firmly in the driver’s seat; outsourcing the Mavs by five points led by team leader Jimmy Butler. Butler shot the ball well all night, which led the Heat to jump out to an early lead. Butler practically lived at the charity stripe, hitting 13 of his 14 free throws; he was determined to get the job done. Bam Adebayo contributed 21 of his points while securing 12 rebounds and shooting just over 50% from the field.
Bench Trouble
Besides Adebayo and Butler, the Heat had no sense of drive. The entirety of the bench combined for only 25 total points. Duncan Robinson was limited to only 20 minutes which was a significant factor due to the lack of perimeter shooting that arose from Robinson’s time off the court. Miami stayed in the fight for the entire game but fizzled out severely at the tail-end.
Luka Magic
Dallas had five players scoring in double-digits against Miami, led by the phenom Luka Doncic. Luka didn’t particularly shoot the ball well at all, yet still almost recorded a triple-double. Doncic was facilitating at every level of the game, which ultimately led to the Mavericks taking control of this game. Maxi Kleber was huge for the Mavericks. Kleber played 34 minutes off the bench and made every single second count. With just over 30 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Kleber hit the game-sealing three-pointer on a blown defensive rotation by the Heat. The Mavericks looked more determined in this one and proved why they are here to stay.
Up Next
Miami travels to Charlotte on Thursday to take on LaMelo Ball and the Hornets.
(Featured image by Alfredo Lee/AP)