Jason Terry (31) took flight in the clutch once again, scoring all 19 of his points in the final 11 minutes, and Shawn Marion (0) grabbed seven of his season-high 13 rebounds as the Mavericks took control in the fourth quarter to snap Miami's 12-game winning streak. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)If your a team in the NBA and riding a streak of five or more wins this season, it's not a good sign to see the Dallas Mavericks (22-5) next on the schedule. This is true especially for the Miami Heat (21-9), who have also now lost 14 straight regular season games against the Mavericks. Mavericks' coach Rick Carlisle reiterated after the contest that his team is concentrating only on victories, not bustin' streaks.
"I don't make a huge deal out of the streak," Carlisle said. "We are just trying to play solid basketball and win as many games as we can."
A matchup between two teams in the top-5 in the NBA in both points allowed and opponent field goal percentage (Miami is first in both categories) did not disappoint as each team showcased some shut-down defense.
Dallas jumped out to 14-2 lead to start the game, taking control from the get-go by forcing three turnovers and 1 of 6 shooting from the Heat. After the Mavericks went up 23-10 with 3:14 left in the first quarter, Miami made some changes to it's starting lineup, throwing the bench at Dallas with only Dwyane Wade staying in the game among starters.
The Heat responded, going on a 17-0 run (led by Wade) to take the lead in the second quarter while holding the Mavs scoreless for a stretch of nearly five minutes. Each team supplied a 10-0 run in the second, as a back-and-forth contest saw Miami leading at halftime and at the end of the third quarter with a bonanza of lead changes throughout.
LeBron James, held scoreless in the first half with four turnovers along with three fouls that put him on the bench for the final six minutes of the second quarter, came alive in the third quarter with nine points. LBJ's 3-pointer just before the end of the third that gave the Heat a one-point lead going into the final frame.
"Two good teams playing and going back and forth the entire game," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Really, nobody could pull away. ... Bottom line is they made bigger plays down the stretch more consistently than we did."
Making those "bigger plays" for Dallas was sixth man Jason Terry, who was held scoreless through three quarters before exploding in the fourth. Terry finished with 19 points in the fourth - matching both James' and Chris Bosh's outputs for the enitre game - on 6 of 11 shooting, hitting clutch shot after clutch shot down the stretch to lead Dallas to the win.
After Wade hit a shot in the lane to cut the Mavericks' lead to just two points at 83-81, Terry responded with three's from each corner to keep Dallas ahead at 89-85 with 1:24 left in the contest.
"Jet finally showed up in the fourth," Dirk Nowitzki said. "That's what he does. He's our finisher. He's our closer. He got hot."
Nowitzki led Dallas with a game-high 26 points, despite making only 8 of 21 shots, thanks to his ability to get to the line consistently. The big German made all 10 of his free throws on the night, including the final four of the contest to seal the win.
Wade led the Heat with 22 points and seven assists, while LeBron led the team with 10 rebounds to go along with seven dimes of his own and 19 points on the night.
This marks the sixth time this season Dallas has defeated a team on a winning streak of five or more games and the second time the Mavs have stopped a streak of 12 - with the other coming Nov. 26 in San Antonio against the Spurs.
What's Next
Dallas travels about 200 miles upstate from Miami to take on the Orlando Magic for the second game of a back-to-back tomorrow night. Orlando is 16-10 this season, fifth best in the Eastern Conference, and just completed two blockbuster trades to acquire Gilbert Arenas, Jason Richardson and Hedo Turkoglu among others. The Magic have lost three straight games, seven of eight overall, but are 9-4 this season at home.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. central time and can be seen nationally on NBA TV, locally on KTXA 21.
News and Notes:
- Dallas preserved in this one despite a flurry of Heat free throws in the fourth quarter. Miami shot 16 of their 25 total free throws for the game in the final quarter, making 12 of those to keep the game close late.
- The Mavericks have no issue ending a long streak in front of the opposing team's fans. Of the six busted streaks, three of those have come on the road.
- This is a pretty good fourth quarter team: the Mavs are now an NBA-best 6-2 when trailing after three quarters. They're also an NBA-best 8-2 when behind at halftime, including 6-0 on the road.
(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)
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