Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving Guide Dallas Mavs Against Miami Heat for 50th Win of Season

Mavs superstars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving combined for 54 points against the Heat for the team's 50th win.

Apr 10, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) drives to the basket as Dallas / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

MIAMI — Ending a two-game Eastern Conference road trip, the Dallas Mavericks (50-30) faced off against the Miami Heat (44-36), with both teams competing on the second night of a road back-to-back. After a hot start, leading by as many as 25 points, the Mavs achieved a 111-92 victory.

With the Mavs winning, they clinched the Southwest Division title and a top-five seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Based on the results around the NBA, Dallas already knows it'll face the Los Angeles Clippers for the third time in the Doncic era, with first-round series losses occurring in 2020 and 2021.

“As we started this season, one of the goals for this team was to win the division you’re in,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “In this league, to win 50 games-plus, that benchmark means that you’ve had a good year.”

Apr 10, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) drives to the basket as Dallas / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving led the way for the Mavs, with Doncic recording 29 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. Irving contributed 25 points, four assists, and two steals. The rest of the starting five scored 12 points each, including Daniel Gafford, Derrick Jones Jr., and P.J. Washington — a unit that entered the game ranked best in defensive rating since the NBA All-Star break among all five-man combinations with 100 or more minutes.

“For any of y’all who don’t know what it means, it means real MVP,” Washington said. “Credit to the organization tonight. He’s a special player. And I’m just excited to be able to play with him and watch his greatness each and every night. He’s the real MVP.”

Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo were held to 20 combined points, shooting just 8-21 from the floor and having seven turnovers. There was an emphasis placed on denying the Heat's top players from attacking the middle of the floor

"We know they like to drive middle. If you let them get middle, they're going to pick you apart, and they'll find their shooters," Kidd said. "We were trying to keep some of those guys off the three-point line. ... With Gafford, P.J., Dereck, and Maxi, that we're big enough to contest and which also just trying to keep guys off the free throw line."

"That's one of the issues, we've been small, so we can't protect the rim, and we've given up a lot of layups," Kidd explained. "But since the last time we played Miami, we've gotten really better at the defensive end, and the trust has just grown since."

Doncic scored 10 of the Mavs' initial 12 points and totaled 13 points before picking up a third personal foul with 3:46 remaining in the first quarter. With the Heat frequently switching in ball screen coverage, he often went to his step-back 3-pointer to counter by making three in this stretch.

The Heat emphasized bringing Doncic into screening actions to make him work, whether directly attacking him in actions or having his man space out one pass away to ensure a simpler set of circumstances for the offensive player attacking. Dallas effectively protected Doncic throughout the night, with the Heat's underwhelming shooting performance.

Irving kept the offense rolling with Doncic on the bench, hitting a pull-up 3-pointer to extend Dallas' advantage to 26-21, entering a timeout at the 2:43 mark of the frame. Miami had begun dialing up more double teams to get the ball out of Irving's hands. Dallas adjusted by moving Irving off-ball as a screener to create clean chances to attack, creating a chance to take a 3-pointer out of triple-threat after being a double-drag screener.

"I think it's just the trust and chemistry that we have," Kidd said. "Luka got his third foul,, there was no panic. We bring in Kai and we extended the lead. We continue to play defense at a high level."

Irving had multiple crafty attacks, continuing the Mavs' momentum — one on the final possession to end the first quarter and another to start the next. He beat the buzzer by evading Butler's nail help using a between-the-legs dribble in short-range. He then attacked the paint and finished through a crowd for a reverse layup.

As Doncic waited at the scorer's table to check back into the game, Irving hit a pull-up 3-pointer followed by a dunk from Hardaway, putting Dallas up 42-29. The momentum only continued with Doncic, who found Irving for a 3-pointer on his first possession back on the court.

“I think it’s just the trust and chemistry that we have,” Kidd said. “When Luka got his third foul there was no panic. We brought in Kai, we extended the lead with the team that played defense at a high level. We felt like we were in control of the game – maybe (not) for five minutes that they took control. But I thought the response for our team tonight on a back-to-back just shows how far we’ve come since October.”

The Mavs began tightening up defensively and turning those possessions into a 13-4 run to go up by 20 points midway through the second period. Dallas was on a roll with Doncic making a series of passes for dunks — including an alley-oop to a cutting Jones and a throw-ahead pass from Doncic for Gafford to dunk. After a post touch for Gafford led to a successful jump hook and a finish through contact on the next play, Hardaway capped it off with a 3-pointer to achieve the 20-point lead.

“It’s amazing what Gaff has done when you look at his ability when he catches, and he finishes,” Kidd said. “In some of the finishes, they weren’t just easy putbacks. He was falling down. His confidence around the rim and in the paint is at a high level. Being able to get offensive rebounds and to be able to put back and fight through some of the contact just shows how talented he is.”

Irving's side-step 3-pointer fading to his right, guarded by Adebayo, pushed the Mavs' lead to 25. Butler scored five quick points in the final minutes of the half, but Doncic answered with a stride-stop turnaround jumper with 0.1 seconds left on the clock.

Doncic and Irving already combined for 40 points at the half. Irving had 21 points, three rebounds, and two steals. Doncic provided 19 points, six rebounds, and six assists despite playing through foul trouble. With Dallas containing Miami to just 47 points in the first half, the Mavs continued to pair strong defensive execution with superstars doing what they do best.

"I have the upmost love and support to give him during this time because I want to see him win MVP," Irving said of Doncic. "If it's not going to be this year, it's going to be in the eventual future, in the near future. He's mastered different nuances of the game and he's continuing to explore his abilities and his talents and it's beautiful to be a part of."

The Mavs led by 20 or more for most of the third quarter until an 8-2 run led by Kevin Love made it 84-68 with 4:25 left in the quarter. Aside from a step-back 3-pointer from Doncic, Dallas went through a scoring drought without Irving. Dallas did not take a timeout and continued to struggle offensively. A short-range jumper from Butler and a pull-up from Herro made it a 13-point game before Irving returned to action out of a timeout.

The Mavs' third-period offensive performance was poor, scoring only 19 points. Doncic's shot wasn't falling nearly as frequently, and the team's spot-up threats struggled to convert. Love proved to be a challenging matchup for Dallas with his combination of interior scoring touch, and jump shooting. Dallas managed to overcome this to close out the game.

With continued hot perimeter shooting, the Heat outscored the Mavs 12-6 early in the fourth quarter, making it an eight-point game. Dallas often staggered the playing time of Doncic and Irving to this point of the second half, but Doncic returned out of a timeout following Herro's 3-pointer, cutting Dallas' advantage to single figures.

Following Doncic's return to the action, the Mavs pulled off a 5-0 run, leading 99-86 with 7:00 left to play. Dallas continued to execute strongly defensively, even forcing a shot clock violation with under five minutes on the game clock. The outcome was essentially decided at this point, with the Mavs going up by as many as 15 points again before the final buzzer sounded.

The Mavs improved to 16-2 over their last 18 games while leading the NBA in defensive rating over this span, with one of those losses occurring without Doncic in the lineup. Dallas has shown what its ceiling can be when pairing elite defensive execution with two superstar offensive juggernauts. Next, it'll be about translating it to the postseason against the Clippers.

“We know the job isn’t finished and we’re just getting started," Irving said. "We’ve done it in the regular season, that’s good and dandy, but now this is where the grownups start to use their IQ, start to use their emotional intelligence, their physical intangibles, and may the best man win.”

Looking ahead, the Mavs return to action on Friday when they take on the Detroit Pistons, marking their final home game of the regular season.