Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Jimmy Butler delivers the Heat a win in a late thriller versus the Mavericks

The Heat won its second game in a row with its new starting lineup, putting down the Wild Horses, minus Luka Dončić.

Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, Haywood Highsmith and Bam Adebayo had the Heat down 15-18 at the first substitution, nearly six minutes into the first quarter. Their biggest early mistakes were allowing consecutive interior breakdowns to Klay Thompson and Quentin Grimes for scores; then Derek Lively recovered two Dallas misses, hooking one back in and feeding Kyrie Irving at the arc with the other.

Yet, Highsmith defended Irving well, denying him at the rim and tracking his dribble from the perimeter to the paint to force another miss. On top of that, the Heat started deploying the zone at the end of the first quarter.

And Adebayo was the source of the offense, putting up nine points at long and short distances.

In frame two, Irving scored eight points, dribbling to his sweet spot for a jumper, making a second chance hook and nailing a trey.

But Herro and Butler feasted for the Heat. The former scored using the double screen to get free at close range and then blew by Irving for a layup. The latter produced at the line, in transition and on a baseline jumper.

Defensively, the Heat kept incorporating zone with man-to-man coverage.

At halftime, the hosts were up 56-51. The crew had 26 paint points, one on the break, two via second chances, 14 off turnovers and 18 from the bench.

The Mavericks had 30 interior points, none in the open court, nine on extra tries, five off turnovers and nine from the reserves.

Then Thompson gashed the hosts for seven points in the first few minutes of the third quarter. Naji Marshall and Lively combined for seven of eight baskets, too. Yet the Heat’s defense keyed in on Irving, preventing zero makes in three tries from deep.

For the Heat, Butler added eight points from the line and on drives into the lane. And Pelle Larson provided four baskets with no misses from deep and short range.

The Heat entered the fourth quarter ahead 89-84, but its small cushion quickly evaporated.

The protections failed to stop Irving from getting to the paint and splashing treys. Subsequently, P.J. Washington’s putback dunk extended Dallas’ lead to three points.

Next, Butler retook the advantage on a left-side reverse layup. But Irving snatched it back with a jumper over Butler.

Afterward, Herro took a dumb seven-foot shot, getting denied by Spencer Dinwiddie, and Larson had to foul Irving to send him to the line. Yet, Irving made one.

As Robinson checked in the ball on the sideline, Butler cut toward the basket, caught the rock and dunked through contact to tie.

In overtime, the Heat held the Mavericks to two of 10 field goals. Moves from Alec Burks, Adebayo and Butler sealed the win.

The Heat won 123-118. The team had 62 paint points, four on the break, 18 via second chances, 17 off turnovers and 45 from the bench.

Butler had 33 points on 11 of 17 attempts, with nine rebounds, six assists, one steal, two blocks and three turnovers.

Adebayo scored 20 points on 40% accuracy, with 11 rebounds, five assists and two turnovers.

Herro put up 18 digits on eight of 25 attempts, with 10 rebounds, five assists, one steal and one giveaway.

And Larson had 14 points, making six of eight shots, with five rebounds and one assist.

The Mavericks had 66 interior points, six in the open court, 24 on extra tries, 15 off turnovers and 37 from the reserves.

After the game, Butler affectionately said, “I hate to say it. Duncan made an incredible pass,” referring to the connection that forced overtime.

At the postgame presser, Spoelstra said, “It seemed like it was a foul,” regarding Butler’s basket to tie the game.

Observations:

1. Adebayo had a sharp first quarter but didn’t score again until early in the third frame. Three of his eight field goals were 3-pointers from the right corner and up top. Additionally, he had a season-high in 3-point attempts (6).

2. Highsmith disrupted Dallas’ actions but played only 19 minutes because he wasn’t feeling well. He was doing a fine job of defusing Irving.

3. Butler missed five free throws. Furthermore, it was his second straight game scoring at least 30 points. The last time he did that was in 2023-24, between Nov. 30 and Dec. 2.

4. Herro (10), Adebayo (11) and Kevin Love (11) had double-digit rebounds and Butler had nine. The Heat’s 57 rebounds is the second-best mark of the season.

—

For more info on the Heat, subscribe to Off The Floor.