Field Level Media
Jan 1, 2021
Luka Doncic amassed 27 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists as the host Dallas Mavericks earned a 93-83 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night.
Doncic finally got the best of Heat guard Goran Dragic, a fellow Slovenia native, beating him for the first time in three NBA meetings. Dragic logged 10 points and seven assists.
In addition, Dallas snapped its six-game losing streak to Miami in a rivalry that has seen the teams split matchups in a pair of NBA Finals.
Miami's biggest issue on Friday was its shooting. The Heat missed their first 14 3-point attempts, finally sinking a long-range shot when Duncan Robinson converted with 9:07 left in the third quarter.
In the end, Miami shot 7-for-33 (21.2 percent) from beyond the arc. Dallas was 12 of 37 (32.4 percent) on 3-point attempts.
Heat star Jimmy Butler returned after missing two games due to a sprained right ankle, but he was held to two points, three rebounds and two assists in 27 minutes.
Miami's Bam Adebayo produced his second straight double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. He also had a game-high four steals.
Three Mavericks players with Miami ties had satisfying efforts. Tim Hardaway Jr., who played high school ball in Miami and is the son of a former Heat star, scored 18 points. Former Heat players Josh Richardson (11 points) and James Johnson (eight points, all in an impactful second quarter) also contributed.
Dallas led 20-16 after a poor-shooting first period for both teams, and the Mavericks led 46-31 at halftime, thanks to 42.1 percent shooting, including 6 of 18 from 3-point range.
Those numbers, while pedestrian, glowed when compared to Miami's 25 percent first-half shooting overall and 0-for-14 success on 3-point tries. The Heat had no double-figure scorers in the first half.
Miami, though, scored a point after the first-half buzzer. Doncic, frustrated with a no-call on his drive to the hoop, was whistled for a technical foul, and Butler made the free throw.
Dallas extended its lead to 73-53 after three quarters. Doncic already had a double-double through three with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
The Heat went on a 17-4 run in the fourth quarter but still couldn't get any closer than nine points. The Mavericks shot 41 percent from the floor for the game while Miami hit 37.2 percent.
--Field Level Media