Mavs Showcase Solid Defensive Execution vs. Heat; Can Luka Doncic & Co. Build?

The Mavs held the Heat to scoring 108 points in Thursday's victory amid an ongoing need to improve defensive execution.

DALLAS — After giving up a staggering 137 points in a loss against the Indiana Pacers, the Dallas Mavericks responded by holding the Miami Heat to 108 points in what became a grind-it-out victory after losing five of their previous six games. 

"Just being tied together. It's not easy," Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. "There's going to be ups and down. You're going to be tested."

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The Mavs switched up the starting lineup by inserting Daniel Gafford and Derrick Jones Jr. in place of Dereck Lively II and Josh Green. Dallas struggled early on defensively, resulting in trailing 21-7 at one point. However, after tightening things up in areas highlighted in the game plan, the team felt they responded well, going from giving up 36 points in the first quarter to not allowing over 25 in any period for the remainder of the game. 

"I thought the group that started, we got backdoored a little bit too much trying to make sure Duncan [Robinson] wasn't going to shoot 3s and he back cut us a little bit. Jimmy [Butler] got to the middle, which he loves to do, and then that puts a lot of pressure on the defense so that opened up some 3s. But I thought the guys, again, mentally stayed the course, no one panicked, and we got a good home win."

Luka Doncic highlighted the Mavs' energy and improved communication for how they responded after a slow start defensively. 

“We were having more energy and more communication," Doncic said. "I think those two things.” 

A continued emphasis for the Mavs was to value protecting the paint at the expense of giving up open shots from beyond the arc at times. Miami still shot 17-38 (44.7 percent) from deep, but there were some clean looks the team would have liked to have back that didn't drop. 

"They [the Mavs] were pretty committed to protecting the paint tonight," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "This was one of the better defensive performances [and were] really committed to making that ball kick out. Those were the right plays. There are some things that we could have done to make it tougher for them to protect the paint and a lot of that is on me. But some of the three-point looks we had were very good. You have to take what’s available, whatever the open shot may be.”

The Mavs felt that after a disappointing first quarter defensively, the team refocused and tightened things up to close out the first half strongly. Dallas went from trailing 36-28 at the end of the opening period to making needed progress before the break, reducing the Heat's lead to 58-54. With Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving to set the tone, all the Mavs needed was to be within striking distance to close out the game. 

“I feel like we came out with an edge in that second quarter," Gafford said. "It was a 22-point quarter. I feel like we did everything we needed to do, just withstanding that first punch they threw in the first [quarter].”

A continued focus for the Mavs remains to do a more effective job in accounting for the corner 3s opponents are taking. To do so, there has to be a conscious effort from all five defenders with the necessary effort being provided. Only so much ground can be covered by a few players. 

“Just being able to understand that we’re going to be scored upon. We’re not going to shut anybody out," Kidd said. "We’ve got to be able to execute the game plan, we’ve got to take the corner three away. This is something that’s been — here of late — giving up the corner three. We’ve got to make a conscious effort of that. But we all have to be tied together. It can’t be just three guys out there playing defense. It has to be all five.”

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Going forward, to sustain the Mavs' defensive execution, Gafford emphasized the importance of communication both on and off the floor. Another suggestion was to not dwell on plays that happened in the past. Doing so can result in the group becoming deflated. Instead, staying focused is a vital part of the process. 

“I would just say we should just communicate on and off the floor. Coaching staff and players," Gafford said. "Every day, every night, every minute, every second counts at the end of the day, and every possession counts in these games. So, if we worry about the possession before or the possession that happened at the beginning of the game or anything like that, it’s something that ties in and kind of sucks the energy out of the team. 

"We just stayed together, we made sure we comforted the guys that needed it, we made sure we pushed the guys that needed it," Gafford continued.  "We got guys out of their head and just went out and had fun with the game.”

The Mavs' next test will come against the Detroit Pistons to begin a two-game road trip. While Detroit has one of the NBA's worst records (10-52), Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey have shown capable of putting up big performances lately, requiring a diligent effort from the opposition. 

"We've got a chance to play another game in Detroit. You can only take one at a time [and] take the one that's in front of you," Kidd said. "We leave for Detroit tomorrow. [We’ll] play them. Not easy, no matter what their record is, they've been playing teams to the end. We have to come with the same effort that we came with tonight. 

"One of the biggest things is going to be being a team and being able to sacrifice. When you look at the minutes, everyone's not going to be able to play the minutes that they want to," Kidd continued. "We've got to understand, define the minutes for the team that can win. Teams that can digest that, players who can digest that -- you can start a winning streak."