Mavericks Fall in Overtime to Miami Heat, 123-118

Dallas' win streak ends at four following this loss to the Heat

Nov 24, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Dallas Mavericks center Daniel Gafford (21) reacts after a dunk over Miami Heat forward Kevin Love (42) during the first half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images / Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

The Dallas Mavericks flew to South Beach on Sunday evening to play the Miami Heat, looking to extend their winning streak to five. They'd have to do so without Luka Doncic, who is out for at least the next few games with a wrist strain.

Without Doncic, the Mavericks started Kyrie Irving, Quentin Grimes, Klay Thompson, PJ Washington, and Dereck Lively II. Miami was missing Terry Rozier, so they rolled with Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, Haywood Highsmith, and Bam Adebayo.

READ MORE: Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier Game Status for Mavericks-Heat

Dallas started the game by relentlessly attacking the rim, clearly not afraid of Bam Adebayo's interior presence. That forced a quick timeout by Erik Spoelstra to try and get that corrected. It didn't really work, as 12 of Dallas' first 20 points came in the paint, and even when they weren't finishing in the paint, the ball was being kicked out for open threes.

Miami was able to keep pace on offense, though, as their core three of Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, and Bam Adebayo traded buckets. After a three from Kevin Love at the top of the key, Miami cut the lead to one at 28-27 after trailing by three to five for most of the opening quarter. Adebayo would then give them the lead on their next possession. The Heat controlled the final few minutes of the period and took a 33-28 lead into the second frame, as they outscored the Mavs 16-5 over the last six minutes of the first.

The Mavs fell behind by as much as ten early in the second quarter following a goaltend and technical foul on Dereck Lively II. Following three consecutive and-ones by the Mavs, they'd tie the game back up at 39, though.

After tying it, Miami would keep Dallas from retaking the lead by getting to the free-throw line and relentlessly attacking the offensive glass. Jimmy Butler had ten points midway through the second period, mostly because he shot nine free throws. This led to another sluggish end to the quarter for the Mavs, as the Heat took a 56-51 lead into halftime. They had a chance to go up ten again, but Dallas was able to keep the lead at five.

READ MORE: Kyrie Irving's Future With Dallas Mavericks Clarified

The Mavericks started the half on a 7-2 run, thanks to some good play from Klay Thompson and Dereck Lively II to tie the game at 58. No matter what Dallas did, they just couldn't retake the lead after giving it up in the first quarter. They had multiple opportunities to get back on top but had some bad misses, including an airball by Quentin Grimes. After some back-and-forth buckets to put Miami back up one, they went on a little run to extend the lead to 75-68.

Jimmy Butler was just doing whatever he wanted to do. He was drawing fouls, getting to the free-throw line, blocking shots... that allowed Miami to go up by as much as ten again late in the third quarter. Some great shots by Naji Marshall and a thunderous lob finish by Dereck Lively pushed the lead back down to five at the end of the quarter, with Miami up 89-84 heading into the 4th.

Spencer Dinwiddie had five points to start the fourth quarter to tie the game again, this time at 89, but Miami responded with four straight points to keep their advantage. Miami would call timeout after Naji Marshall stormed to the basket to tie the game again at 96, his 15th point of the second half.

FINALLY, the Mavericks retook the lead with 4:34 remaining on a Kyrie Irving three-pointer from the corner after a steal broke up a lob attempt on the other end. That lead at 106-103 was Dallas' first lead since it was 28-27 in the final minutes of the first quarter. They had tied the game eight different times before finally breaking that barrier.

Kyrie Irving hit an and-one to push the lead up to four, but Miami responded with another made three from Alec Burks. After some traded baskets and a bad miss from Irving, Jimmy Butler flipped the ball over his head on a ridiculous layup to retake a Miami lead, 112-111, with 1:03 to go.

Kyrie would give Dallas the lead right back on an elbow pull-up in the final minute. Spencer Dinwiddie blocked a mid-range attempt from Tyler Herro, then tried to be the hero with a wild fading shot from the corner. Kyrie forced the ball loose in the corner and recovered, giving Dallas the ball again with 14.9 seconds to go.

Miami waited a few seconds after the inbound to use their foul to give, and Irving wouldn't shoot the clutch free throws until 8.2 seconds were remaining. Irving missed the first and made the second, giving them a two-point lead for Miami's final possession.

Dallas used their foul to give with 5.3 seconds to go, and Jimmy Butler got loose on the inbounds for a dunk to tie it at 114 with four seconds to go, and Spencer Dinwiddie's running three-pointer at the buzzer would go in and out, sending this to overtime.

Naji Marshall started the scoring in overtime with one of his patented floaters, answered by Alec Burks on a turnaround fade. Bam Adebayo gave them a 120-118 lead following his third made three-pointer. Jimmy Butler would extend the lead to four with 1:38 remaining after a horrific shot by Dinwiddie on the other end. Kyrie Irving would be short on his three-pointer to keep Miami's lead at four.

After a stop, Klay Thompson found an open Dinwiddie for three, who missed again. Kyrie found space on the next sequence and missed yet another three, forcing Dallas to play the foul game. That wouldn't work, and they'd go on to lose 123-118 in overtime.

The Mavericks will look back and realize they had a lot of chances to win this game: Miami going 17/27 from the FT line, Kyrie going 1/2 from the line in the final seconds of regulation, Lively and Washington miscommunicating and allowing Jimmy Butler to slip free for the game-tying basket, and playing as poorly as they did in overtime. Playing Spencer Dinwiddie in the clutch and letting him take so many shots was also an annoying decision.

Jimmy Butler led all scorers with 33 points, nine rebounds, and six assists while shooting 16 free throws. He was joined in scoring by Bam Adebayo's 19 points and 10 rebounds, Tyler Herro's 18 points and 11 rebounds, Alec Burks' 15 points, and Pelle Larsson's 14.

Dallas was led in scoring by Kyrie Irving with 27 points, but he was just 9/21 from the floor and 3/12 from three. PJ Washington had 31 points and ten rebounds, and Naji Marshall had another 20-point game, adding in five rebounds. Klay Thompson (15 points), Dereck Lively II (14 points and 13 rebounds), and Daniel Gafford (10 points and eight rebounds) were all in double figures. Spencer Dinwiddie had seven points on 1/12 shooting from the floor and 0/9 shooting from three, but still played almost 28 minutes, including most of the clutch situations.

Dallas will play the second night of a back-to-back on Monday night against the Atlanta Hawks on the road.

READ MORE: Kyrie Irving Sends Message to Luka Doncic After Big Win vs. Nuggets

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