Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Luka Dončić and the Mavericks put the Heat away late in the fourth quarter

The Heat hung around with the Mavericks until it was floored by the knockout blows with two minutes left.

Tyler Herro (foot) and Kevin Love (heel) were absent.  As was Josh Richardson (shoulder), who will miss the rest of the season.

Early, the Heat stunned the Mavericks, converting 13 of its first 15 attempts and 36 points on 71.4% shooting in the frame. Terry Rozier channeled Heat legend Tim Hardaway, setting up Nikola Jović on the go for a layup, lobbing to Bam Adebayo, and finding him ahead of everyone upcourt for buckets plus scored eight points. And Duncan Robinson buried three trays and cut on the right side for a layup assisted by Jović.

Defensively, the visitors permitted the Mavericks 28 on the scoreboard. Luka Dončić scored over Rozier in the post, nailed a pair of triples and pierced the paint for a floater. Kyrie Irving added seven points and two dimes. The rest of the Mavericks made five of nine baskets in the period.

But the Heat went cold in the second interval, making 43% of tries in the lane and failing nearly every attempt from the top of the key, wings and right corner. Adebayo was ineffective, and Butler was passive; together, they supplied seven points on two six shots. Yet, Jaime Jaquez Jr. canned a corner triple and finished a layup on the right side.

The Mavericks attack was just as poor against man-to-man coverage and the zone. Dallas’ Dante Exum and Derrick Jones Jr failed on fast break dunks, the half-court sets were predictable and deep shots were contested cleanly. In the frame, the Mavericks tallied 28 points on seven of 21 shots.

At halftime, the Heat was up 58-54 and ahead on the glass by one. Additionally, it picked up 24 paint points, eight on the break, two on second chances, six after turnovers and 20 from the bench. Robinson was the scoring leader with 14 on five of five ventures. JJJ and Caleb Martin had eight apiece.

The Mavericks had 20 interior points, nine in the open court, six on extra tries, 11 after turnovers and 17 from the reserves. Dončić dropped a dozen points with four dimes and three rebounds. And Irving had 11 on his ledger with two assists.

Then Dončić seized the quarter, recording five assists, spinning past Rozier in the post, breaking into the paint on a pick-and-roll set for a jumper over Adebayo and swishing three 3-pointers. Irving added seven points, and the Mavericks took a 10-point lead late in the third.

For the Heat, Jovič registered seven fruitless minutes, and Butler was invisible for nine. In spite of that, Robinson tacked on five more, and Rozier kept the ember burning. The latter isolated his mismatch, PJ Washington, for a layup on the right side, canned a floater over Dereck Lively II, who is a foot taller (7-foot-1) and made two deep shots.

Butler cracked open the fourth quarter, hitting a left elbow jumper over Washington. He also made another over the same cover on the baseline and drove left past him for a midrange pull-up. His last basket was a fall-away jumper guarded by Exum that gave the Heat a 101-100 lead with four minutes left.

Adebayo, Robinson and Rozier missed five shots the rest of the way. But Rozier made the last two baskets- a left-wing triple facing drop coverage and slashing the lane for dos puntos.

The Mavericks recorded 23 points on eight of 19 looks in the fourth quarter. While the hosts led by two with under three minutes left, Dončić raised for a trifecta up top. He tried another with 93 seconds to go and the Mavs up three, but he missed and it was tapped to Irving on the left corner for three points.

After all that, the Heat had a faint pulse in the last 25 seconds, down three and spare time to go for a chance to tie if it could get one last stop. Except, Martin, without looking, swiped at Exum and was flagged for a reach-in foul. Exum made the two freebies, icing the game.

The Heat lost in Dallas 108-114 and was outrebounded by eight. It also had 40 paint points, 12 on the break, five via second chances, 10 after turnovers and 30 from the bench. Rozier put up 27 points on 10 of 17 attempts, plus 11 dimes and six boards. Robinson scored 19 on 70% shooting. Adebayo and Butler each had 14 points.

The Mavericks had 38 interior points, 19 in the open court, 16 on extra tries, 15 after turnovers and 33 from the reserves. Dončić finished with 35 points, making half of his tries with 11 assists and 11 rebounds. Irving provided 23 to the scoreboard on nine of 19 chances.

At the postgame presser, coach Erik Spoelstra said, “They were pretty committed to getting the ball out of [Jimmy Butler’s] hands and getting him out of his sweet spots… We have to find different ways then to make sure he gets activated and other ways he can get to his strength zones.”

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