Mavs Lose To Heat
DALLAS — With 10 points, nine rebounds, five blocks and many more altered shots in limited playing time, Miami center Hassan Whiteside made a major statement about his importance in the Heat’s 93-90 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night at American Airlines Center.
“It was more than I was expecting,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who played Whiteside just 17 minutes. “I was expecting him to play in Charlotte (on Friday). That was the plan and this morning he said he felt great after the two workouts yesterday. It was really his call. We talked about it and said, ‘why not?’ Obviously he gave us a great boost in the second quarter and I think he’s feeling good right now and we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”
Whiteside missed the previous six games with a hip injury, and he wasn’t even certain he would play in Dallas for sure until warming up before the game. Spoelstra opted not to start the big man, and he didn’t insert Whiteside into the game until the 8:11 mark of the second quarter with Miami trailing 32-27.
Instantly, Whiteside, who had 25 points and 19 rebounds in the Heat’s win over Dallas on Jan. 1, changed the tone of the game.
In the final eight minutes of the second quarter, Whiteside went 4-for-4 from the floor and blocked two shots to give Miami a 47-46 halftime lead. He played the final three minutes of the
third quarter, added another bucket and two more blocks, and Miami led by 74-65 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Mavs, as they always seem to do, quickly got back in the game and were within 89-87 after guard Raymond Felton made two free throws with 1:22 to go. Then Miami forward Luol Deng, who was having a relatively quiet night, swished a corner 3-pointer to push the lead up to 92-87 with 1:04 left.
Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki, who finished with 28 points on 10-of-21 shooting, drilled a deep 3-pointer with 17.9 seconds left to keep Dallas alive, down 92-90.
Forced to foul, Dallas put Miami guard and old nemesis Dwyane Wade on the free-throw line with 15.5 seconds left. He made the first but missed the second for a 93-90 lead.
Dallas didn’t call timeout and headed to the other end with a final chance to tie. But Felton couldn’t get the ball to the heavily guarded Nowitzki, and he misfired on a long 3-pointer over outstretched Miami defender Chris Bosh.
“We were going full court without a timeout,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “With our team, we have had better success in free-flowing situations, getting good looks at the basket. It was obviously a bad decision on my part. The way it went, I should have taken a timeout and set something else up. I thought we had time to get a quick 3, or a 2, and still have time to get a steal or a foul. It didn’t work out and it was a tough loss.”
Whiteside wasn’t on the floor late in the game because of five fouls, but his presence inside changed the dynamic of the game and helped Miami, which was 2-for-15 from 3-point range and shot just 42 percent overall, rebound from a Tuesday loss at Houston.
“Whatever amount of minutes I play, I’m going to try to contribute the most I can,” Whiteside said. “I don’t know how many minutes I am going to play. I’m just going to come out there and be the best Hassan Whiteside I can be.”
Bosh led the Heat (28-22) with 20 points despite going 0-for-6 from beyond the arc. Wade had 18 points on just 6-of-19 shooting, and Deng finished with 15 points.
Dallas (28-24) had five players score in double figures, but outside of Nowitzki’s 28, forward Chandler Parsons had the second-most points with 12. Center Zaza Pachulia had 10 points and 15 rebounds, and Felton and guard J.J. Barea each had 11 points.
“We’ve got to be aggressive from the jump, and aggressive at the start of every quarter and the end of every quarter,” said Mavs guard Wesley Matthews, limited to just nine points and 1-of-5 from beyond the arc. “The aggressive team gets the benefit of the whistle and I think that we were behind the benefit of the whistle tonight.
Barea and Felton were pressed into extra duty because Mavs starting point guard Deron Williams sat out with a hip injury, and backup guard Devin Harris missed his sixth consecutive game with a toe injury.
