Heat-Mavericks Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Dec 20 2012 1:08PM

Dirk Nowitzki is getting closer to making his debut for the Dallas Mavericks, though they'll certainly need more than just his presence in the lineup to improve one of the NBA's worst defenses.

A day after getting the good news that Nowitzki is on the mend, the Mavericks will have a serious challenge against one of the league's highest-scoring teams Thursday night as they look to avoid a third straight loss to the visiting Miami Heat.

Nowitzki has been recovering from offseason knee surgery and took a major step forward by participating in full-contact practice drills for the first time Wednesday. Though he said there's no timetable for his return, he's hoping it will be shortly after Christmas.

"We'll just see how it goes. I mean, this is the first day we're stopping, pushing off, moving and we'll just see how it reacts," Nowitzki told the team's official website. "Get at least a couple practices under my belt, but there's no real date set, so we'll just have to wait and see how the knee responds to the first couple of workouts."

While the Mavericks (12-13) sure could use the franchise's all-time leading scorer, it's their defense that has caused a good portion of their struggles. They rank near the bottom of the league by allowing 101.5 points per game and have given up fewer than 90 only once.

The offense carried Dallas in a 107-100 home win over Philadelphia on Tuesday, as the Mavs shot 54.2 percent after going winless on a three-game road trip.

O.J. Mayo scored 26 points and Chris Kaman added 20 while combining to score 17 of the team's final 19 points. Kaman hadn't logged fourth-quarter minutes in the previous five games.

"We try to involve those guys in a lot of things because they're both playing well," coach Rick Carlisle said. "(Mayo's) aggression was really the key."

Not only will Nowitzki not be available, but Dallas won't have starting point guard Derek Fisher in the lineup due to a strained right knee. Fisher will miss three games after getting hurt in the first quarter Tuesday.

The Mavericks won their third straight at home to begin a two-game homestand before hitting the road for tough tests at Memphis, San Antonio and Oklahoma City.

"It was important for us to come home and get a win," Mayo said.

Dallas had won nine straight regular-season home matchups with Miami before LeBron James scored 37 points and Dwyane Wade added 26 in a 105-94 win last Christmas Day to open the lockout-shortened season.

The Heat swept the season series with a 106-85 victory March 29 and will seek their first three-game regular-season winning streak over the Mavericks since beating them 16 straight times from 1992-1999.

James has been the catalyst for a Miami offense averaging 103.1 points, becoming the first player to score at least 20 points his team's first 22 games since Utah's Karl Malone in 1989-90 after netting 22 in Tuesday's 103-92 win over Minnesota.

"We're getting better every night," said James, who added 11 assists, seven rebounds and four blocks.

Wade scored a game-high 24 points for the Heat (16-6), who won despite being outrebounded 52-24.

"You better be strong in other areas of the game," Shane Battier, who hit three 3-pointers off the bench, told the team's official website. "That's a not an easy to way to win a game. But you have to do your work elsewhere to make up for it."

It marked the second-fewest rebounds they have grabbed in franchise history.

"We made up for it with our energy," Wade said.

James is averaging 30.4 points in his last seven regular-season games in Dallas.

LeBron over 20 again, Heat beat Mavericks 110-95

By STEPHEN HAWKINS
Posted Dec 21 2012 1:19AM

DALLAS (AP) This was too easy for LeBron James and the Miami Heat against a Dallas team already missing Dirk Nowitzki when it was plagued by more injuries.

There was no semblance of their two NBA Finals matchups against each other.

James scored 24 points with some early baskets on nifty passes from Dwyane Wade, and the Heat rolled to a 110-95 victory Thursday night, a game in which Miami led by 36 points before James and Wade sat out entire fourth quarter.

"I'm just playing within the game," said Wade, who had 19 points and six assists. "My job is to do a little bit of everything right now."

Including getting the ball to James, who has scored at least 20 points in all 23 games, the longest streak to start an NBA season since Karl Malone's 24 in a row opening the 1989-90 season.

"I'm just very comfortable and confident in my ability," James said. "I put a lot of work into my game. It's always good when you put in the work and implement that into a game situation."

Nowitzki, the Mavs' 11-time All-Star, hasn't played this season though he practiced for the first time this week since arthroscopic right knee surgery Oct. 19. Dallas is now without starting point guard Derek Fisher (right knee) and post players Elton Brand (right groin) and Brandan Wright (right ankle).

The Heat never trailed after James drove for a short floater 3 minutes into the game. They had their first double-digit lead, 22-11, when James made a 3-pointer with 4 1/2 minutes left in the first quarter.

"We don't want to give a team too much confidence at home. We understand this team was short-handed," Wade said. "We wanted to come out here on the road and make a statement."

Chris Bosh added 17 points as the Heat played only their second road game since Nov. 17. They return home to play Utah on Saturday before an NBA Finals rematch against Oklahoma City on Christmas Day.

Rookie Jae Crowder had 15 points to lead six Dallas players in double figures. Dahntay Jones and Bernard James had 12 points each.

LeBron James' first 3 came in between two impressive passes from Wade, who didn't yet have James or Dallas native Bosh as teammates when the Heat clinched their first NBA title in the same building in June 2006.

Dallas is much changed team since winning the 2011 NBA title over the Heat, in the star trio's first season together. Miami is now defending a championship this season.

"Much better team than we were. We know each other," James said. "We can close our eyes and where we're going to be offensively and defensively."

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle wholeheartedly agrees with that assessment, and is dealing with the opposite side of that since Nowitzki and Shawn Marion are the only current Dallas players who actually played in the NBA Finals only two seasons ago.

"They're so much better now since they've been together and there's a lot to be said about being together," Carlisle said. "Right now one of our struggles, we have a group that hasn't been together too much. ... And it's been challenging."

Bosh rebounded a missed 3-pointer by the Mavericks and got the ball to Wade, who had a perfect alley-oop pass to James, who caught the ball in midair near the rim and slammed it through with both hands.

After another missed 3 by Dallas later in the first quarter, Wade grabbed the rebound under the basket and then threw a football-like pass the length of the court to James. Even with Darren Collison and Vince Carter fronting him, James leaped and reached over to grab the ball, then finished with a layup to make it 27-13.

Dallas pulled to 36-33 after Dominique Jones had consecutive assists to rookies, a 3-pointer by Crowder and a reverse layup by Bernard James.

But Miami then responded with a 16-4 run.

Miami stretched the lead to 91-55, its largest of the season, when Shane Battier made a 3-pointer with 1:21 left in the third quarter.

Nowtizki practiced for the first time Wednesday, and had an individual workout Thursday. It's still unclear when he will make his season debut, but got a huge cheer when he was shown on the video screen during a timeout.

Collison, who lost the job as the starting point guard when the Mavericks signed Fisher on Nov. 29, was back in the starting lineup and had 11 points.

Fisher was hurt in the first quarter of a win over Philadelphia on Tuesday night. He will skip a two-game trip for games at Memphis on Friday night and San Antonio on Sunday. The team said there is no timetable for the 38-year-old Fisher's return and that he would be re-evaluated next week.

NOTES: Mavs guard O.J. Mayo made only three of 14 shots for eight points before facing his former team on Friday night in Memphis. ... The Heat's largest lead this season before Thursday night had been against Washington last week, when they led by 35 points in the fourth quarter. ... Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, the freshman quarterback from Texas A&M, was sitting courtside early in the second half. He watched Philadelphia at Houston on Wednesday night. ... When play resumed after a timeout with about 7 minutes left, many fans were watching a fight in the stands instead of the game.

Notebook: Heat 110, Mavericks 95

Dave Ivey, for NBA.com
Posted Fri Dec 21, 2012 12:58 AM - Updated Fri Dec 21, 2012 12:58 AM

THE FACTS: LeBron James and the Heat's Big Three had a big night in Big D on Thursday, thumping the slumping Mavericks with a 110-95 victory at the American Airlines Center in a rematch of the 2011 NBA Finals. Miami (17-6) has won three straight and Dallas (12-14) has dropped four of five.

James delivered 25 points, nine rebounds and five assists and has scored at least 20 points in all 23 games. Dwyane Wade had 19 points and Chris Bosh added 17 for the Heat, who shot 53.8 percent from the field, sank 10 3-pointers and led by as many as 36 points.

Six players scored in double figures for the Mavericks, led by rookie Jae Crowder with 15 off the bench. Dallas was just 3-for-22 from 3-point distance and shot 38.5 percent overall. Two bright spots for the Mavericks: They committed only nine turnovers and they still have their 2011 championship banner hanging from the rafters.

QUOTABLE: "I wish I had a magic pill or speech for the team, but that wasn't [it]. This has been building for more than just the last few games. It's been building over the last few weeks or so."
-- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra

THE STAT: When Miami shoots at least 50 percent from the field, the team is 12-0 this season and has won 30 straight dating back to last season.

TURNING POINT: A lineup of five Mavericks bench players scratched and clawed to trim Miami's lead to 36-33 in the second quarter. The Heat quickly silenced the threat with an 11-2 run, including back-to-back layups by Wade and Bosh and a 3-pointer by Shane Battier. Dallas never got within single digits again.

QUOTABLE II: "They were playing us tough all night. They were making tough shots when we weren't, then we had more poor breakdowns as the game went on. It was very disappointing how we played, but we'll have to forget it quickly because we have another tough one tomorrow [in Memphis]."
-- Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle

HOT: James made his first six shots en route to a season-high 13 first-quarter points, adding four boards, three assists and a blocked shot in the quarter for good measure.

NOT: O.J. Mayo had his worst performance as a Maverick, tallying eight points on 3-for-14 shooting. The league leader in 3-point shooting entering the game at 51.9 percent, Mayo missed all five of his attempts from behind the arc against Miami.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Wade was a staggering plus-40 in 26 minutes, matching his career high. He had a team-high six assists and five rebounds.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Country music artist Darius Rucker, former lead singer of the band Hootie & The Blowfish, sang the national anthem. ... Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M had courtside seats.

ROOKIE WATCH: Pressed into duty because of injuries, Mavericks forward Bernard James delivered a season-high 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots. He provided one of the rare highlights for the home team midway through the third quarter when he hustled to block a fast-break dunk attempt by Udonis Haslem.

NOTABLE: The short-handed Mavericks played without Derek Fisher (right knee strain), Elton Brand (right groin strain) and Brandan Wright (right ankle sprain). Recovering from offseason knee surgery, Dirk Nowitzki participated in his first practice on Wednesday and isn't expected back for at least another week. ... Shawn Marion was the lone Mavericks player in uniform who played in the 2011 NBA Finals against the Heat. ... Dallas used its 12th different starting lineup. ... It was the Mavs' first loss in seven home games against Eastern Conference opponents. ... Miami is 14-2 when scoring 100 or more points. ... Mike Miller needs seven points to reach 10,000.

UP NEXT: For the Mavericks, Friday @ Memphis, Sunday @ San Antonio, Thursday @ Oklahoma City. For the Heat, Saturday vs. Utah, Tuesday vs. Oklahoma City, Wednesday @ Charlotte.

• Heat: Harrellson, Harris
• Mavericks: Cunningham, Nowitzki

• Heat: --
• Mavericks: --

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX
• Officials: #49 Tom Washington, #29 Mark Lindsay, #61 Courtney Kirkland
• Attendance: 20160
• Duration: 2:20