Mavericks-Heat Preview

By TIM REYNOLDS
Posted Mar 28 2012 5:11PM

MIAMI (AP) LeBron James said it was one of the most painful moments that he can remember, one that is weighing heavily on him as the Miami Heat get ready for an NBA finals rematch with the Dallas Mavericks.

No, the Heat forward isn't talking about losing last year's title series.

He's talking about dislocating the ring finger on his left, non-shooting, hand at Indiana earlier this week.

"The only recovery for it, the doctors told me, was rest," James said. "And I think we all know I'm having none of that."

Not now, anyway - not with the Mavericks coming back to the building where they celebrated winning a championship a little over nine months ago, and not with the Heat trying to snap a two-game slide that left them looking up at both Chicago and Oklahoma City in the race for the NBA's best record.

Dallas visits Miami on Thursday night, the second and final meeting of this regular season between the clubs.

The first one: All Miami. The Heat watched the Mavs raise their championship banner on Christmas Day, then built as much as a 35-point lead before settling for a 105-94 victory.

"A bad taste in our mouth," Mavs guard Jason Terry said.

So as much as the Heat remember Dallas celebrating on their floor, the Mavs remember the opener, too.

"We've got to think back to Christmas Day because that was a miserable experience for us," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "That was really tough. I was watching some of it (Tuesday). They played terrific, and they were great that day, and we weren't, and so we're going to have to play a lot better."

Which is sort of a Heat mantra these days as well.

The Heat have been held under 100 points in 11 of their last 13 games, and that's not even the most staggering stat. Through March 1, Miami was the league's highest-scoring team at 103.8 points per game. Since then, the Heat are 25th at 93.1 points per game - and all the clubs they're outscoring are well outside the playoff picture.

Miami has a 14-game home winning streak, the margin of victory in those games a little over 10 points. But after losing at Oklahoma City and Indiana by a combined 31 points - the first time since James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh became teammates nearly two years ago that the Heat endured double-digit losses in consecutive games - Heat coach Erik Spoelstra decided Wednesday's practice was the right time to address the slippage.

Not with words, but with action.

"Every team goes through this," Spoelstra said. "Sometimes you take things for granted and you become flat over the course of a long NBA season. And this season's been a challenge for everybody. So it's not an excuse."

James went through the workout, though his left ring finger was bandaged afterward. He dislocated it in the first quarter against Indiana on Monday, popping it back into place himself and labored through the rest of the game. James was catching passes with his right hand only for much of that game, and this latest concern comes not long after two nasty falls in a game against Phoenix last week.

"He's got a football-type mentality," Heat forward Udonis Haslem said. "No one can ever question his toughness."

The Mavericks have won two straight, maybe turning things around after a stretch where they lost 11 of 18 games. Entering Wednesday, Dallas had the fifth-best record in the Western Conference, and was only two games ahead of ninth-place Houston.

Clearly, there's not a lot of time for reminiscing over last year's title run right now. And that may be one of the reasons why Mavs owner Mark Cuban didn't bring his championship ring on this trip to Miami.

"When I walk in, it'll be fun," Cuban said. "And when I hear from their fans, it'll be more interesting. But we've got bigger issues to address."

Dallas has only six home games left, and three of those are next week. If the Mavericks are going to make a real playoff push, it probably should be starting right about now.

"Well, it's another critical game in the standings," Carlisle said. "We know they are a terrific team. They've lost a couple of games. We've been a little up and down over the last three weeks, so you know it's ... we've got to get ready to lace it up and come at them."

James said he never wants to use injuries as an excuse, and that if he's in uniform, he should be considered ready to play. And he plans to be in uniform on Thursday night.

"The last few weeks, we haven't played to how we're capable of playing," James said. "It can change with (Thursday's) performance. So we're going to go out there and do what we need to do."

Heat win finals rematch, top Dallas 106-85

By TIM REYNOLDS
Posted Mar 30 2012 1:14AM

MIAMI (AP) No fourth-quarter collapse this time against Dallas. These days, everything seems to be going right at home for the Miami Heat.

LeBron James and Chris Bosh each finished with 19 points and nine rebounds, Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem scored 16 apiece and the Heat extended the league's longest home winning streak this season to 15 games with a 106-85 win over the Mavericks in an NBA finals rematch on Thursday night.

Mario Chalmers scored 12 points and Norris Cole added 10 for Miami, which swept its two games with Dallas this season and snapped a two-game losing streak.

"We just worked our habits," James said. "The best thing about tonight, we didn't take another step backwards like we did the last two games. And it was good to see."

Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 for Dallas, but was held to 1-for-9 shooting in the second half. Lamar Odom had 12 for the Mavericks, who were outrebounded 44-29 and were held to only two fast-break points.

Miami outscored Dallas 26-13 in the fourth quarter to cap the win.

"You have to give them credit," Nowitzki said. "They stepped up their pressure on both ends of the floor. In the first half everything came a little too easy for us. We got some good looks, got some rolls, had everything going. Then they really picked up their pressure and we didn't have many good looks."

It was Dallas' first time playing at Miami since winning Game 6 of the NBA finals last June, a series that turned after an epic late Game 2 comeback by the Mavs in Miami and eventually became the ultimate payback - hoisting a championship trophy in Miami, five years after Wade and the Heat celebrated winning their title in Dallas.

Still, Dallas insisted this trip wasn't about revisiting memories.

"Just another day at the office," Mavs owner Mark Cuban said.

Well, not an altogether friendly day at the office - particularly late.

In the fourth quarter alone, Nowitzki had the bridge of his nose bloodied, James got hit in the mouth and Wade spent a few minutes grabbing at his right index finger in obvious discomfort. Adding to Miami's discomfort: Dallas being within 90-83 with 4:37 left after Nowitzki made four free throws in a 27-second span.

Any angst existing at that point dissipated quickly.

"I felt like we were in control," Wade said. "They got a couple things to go their way. It was just about settling down and running offense."

Simple as that. A 9-0 run sealed it for Miami, with Wade quarterbacking the charge.

His two-handed dunk pushed the Heat lead back to double figures, then he found Bosh to set up a three-point play and set up James for a slam that pushed the lead to 99-83 with 3:03 left. The Mavs called time out, took Nowitzki and three others off the floor for the night, and the Heat slide was soon over.

Vince Carter and Brandan Wright each scored 11 for Dallas.

"It's tough," Carter said of facing the Heat. "When they're rolling, they're rolling."

Miami's offense has sputtered for nearly a month, but the Heat scored 60 points by halftime for the first time in 11 games. James, Bosh and Wade shot 12 for 21 by halftime, and Miami's bench - Haslem and Cole, mostly - connected on 10 of 13 shots before intermission. Haslem made all four of his shots in the half and Cole was 4 for 6 after making four shots in his last seven games.

Even with all that, the lead was only 60-53 at the break, in large part because Nowitzki was 8 for 10 from the field.

Miami's offense cooled big-time in the third, the Heat shooting an abysmal 5 for 23. And the lead actually grew by a point in the period, thanks to what went on at the other end.

An 11-2 run gave the Heat their first double-digit lead, after holding Dallas without a field goal for more than 6 minutes. Miami led by as many as 13 in the third, before Odom scored Dallas' final seven points of the period to get the Mavs within 80-72 going into the final quarter.

"It was disappointing," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "Our start to the third quarter was strong and then they answered back."

And now, Miami hits the road for games in Toronto on Friday and Boston on Sunday. The Heat have lost six of their last eight away from home.

"It's time for a response on the road," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We will take this win. This is a great team win against a very good team. But we have to move on and now let's take care of business on the road."

NOTES: Bosh returns to Toronto on Friday, the city where he played his first seven seasons. ... Dan Marino was among those in attendance. ... Miami held a 36-24 scoring edge in the second quarter, the first time the Heat outscored an opponent in their last 12 quarters. ... Mavs point guard Jason Kidd played in his 1,308th regular-season game, passing Buck Williams for 10th place on the NBA career list. ... Mavs guard Delonte West (broken right ring finger) played for the first time in 22 games. Center Brendan Haywood (sprained right knee) was active, but indicated he was more likely to return at Orlando on Friday. ... It marked the third time in Heat history that the team swept a season series with a reigning NBA champion.

Notebook: Heat 106, Mavs 85

Posted Thursday March 29, 2012 11:12PM

By Shandel Richardson, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks 106-85 Thursday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

The win snapped the Heat's two-game losing streak, and completed a sweep of the season series against the Mavericks. LeBron James and Chris Bosh each scored 19 points to lead the Heat. Guard Dwyane Wade added 16 points and five assists.

The Heat bounced back from losses to Oklahoma City and Indiana. It was the first time they lost consecutive games by double-digits since signing James and Bosh in 2010. Miami rallied from a slow start to take control in the second quarter. They never trailed again after taking a 60-53 lead into halftime.

The Mavs fell victim to the Heat's smothering defense. Dallas was able to remain in the game behind their 3-point shooting (9-for-24), but shot just 42 percent from the field for the game. Dirk Nowitzki led all scorers with 25 points. The Mavs' remaining starters made 11-for-28 from the field.

QUOTABLE: "It was good to see that type of energy on both ends of the court ...It was much more to our style. Against this team [the Mavs], it never feels like they're out of it because of their ability to shoot the ball but we stayed the course. Like I said, there were a lot of contributions."
-- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

THE STAT: The Heat outrebounded the Mavericks 44-29. After being handled on the boards the past two games, Miami put together one of its best showings of the season.

TURNING POINT: After trailing by five at the end of the first quarter, the Heat outscored the Mavs 36-24 in the second. Miami shot 75 percent in the quarter.

QUOTABLE II: "We understand that it was only two losses. We can take that if we're losing the game that Miami Heat is accustomed to. It's just about getting back to what's been successful for us on both ends of the floor. I thought we were able to do that tonight."
-- Dwyane Wade.

HOT: Despite this being the worst shooting season of his career, forward Udonis Haslem put together his best game of the year. He shot 6-for-10 from field, pouring in a season-high 16 points. He also made all four free-throw attempts.

NOT: Jason Terry shot just 1-for-10 from the field. Without his instant offense, the Mavs were lacking in the scoring department. The Terry who dominated the Heat in last year's NBA Finals was a no-show.

GOOD MOVE: The Heat got their best performance at point guard in quite some time. Mario Chalmers was effective as a scorer and facilitator. Rookie Norris Cole, coming off a poor three-game stretch, had his best game in recent weeks.

BAD MOVE: The Mavs had no answer for the Heat's Big Three of Bosh, Wade and James. When all are scoring, it makes Miami almost impossible to defend. Dallas was unable to key on anyone because they all were contributing.

NOTABLE: Heat swingman Mike Miller missed his ninth straight game with a sprained left ankle. Miller will not travel with the team for this weekend's two-game road trip. Mavericks guard Delonte West (finger) returned for the first time since Feb. 15. Center Brendan Haywood (knee) was active for the first time in six games.

UP NEXT: For the Heat, Friday @ Toronto, Sunday @ Boston, Tuesday vs. Philadelphia. For the Mavericks, Friday @ Orlando, Monday vs. L.A. Clippers, Wednesday vs. Memphis.

• Mavericks: Azubuike, Jones
• Heat: Harris, Miller

• Mavericks: --
• Heat: --

• Lead Changes: 11
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
• Officials: #10 Ron Garretson, #6 Tony Brown, #65 Sean Wright
• Attendance: 20096
• Duration: 2:24