Doncic leads Dallas Mavericks past Miami Heat
Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks in action at the Staples Center on December 25, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. John McCoy/Getty Images/AFP
LOS ANGELES – Luka Doncic scored 27 points to outduel fellow Slovenian Goran Dragic as the Dallas Mavericks took advantage of some woeful three-point shooting by Miami to beat the Heat 93-83 on Friday night.
Doncic also tallied 15 rebounds, outperforming compatriot Dragic who finished with 10 points and seven assists at American Airlines Center arena in Dallas, Texas.
This was the first time in three career meetings that Doncic had beat guard Dragic, as Dallas snapped a six-game losing skid to Miami.
In what appears to be a growing trend in the NBA, Miami was undone by poor shooting from the three-point range.
On Thursday, the New York Knicks shot three for 36 from beyond the arc in a 100-83 loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Miami missed their first 14 three point attempts, making a total of just seven of 33. The Heat didn’t hit their first three pointer until the third quarter when Duncan Robinson finally sank one.
Dallas was 12 of 37 on three-point attempts.
Heat star Jimmy Butler, who returned after missing two games due to a sprained right ankle, scored just 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.
Tim Hardaway scored 18 points, and ex-Heat players Josh Richardson (11 points) and James Johnson (eight points) also contributed. Dorian Finney-Smith scored 18 in the win.
Hawks stop KD, Nets
Elsewhere, De’Andre Hunter scored 23 points, and Trae Young chipped in 21 as the Atlanta Hawks bounced back from giving up 145 points in their last game to beat the cold-shooting Brooklyn Nets 114-96 in New York.
The win comes two nights after Atlanta lost one of the highest scoring games in recent NBA memory, a 145-141 defeat to the same Nets. The Hawks also snapped a six game losing skid to Brooklyn.
John Collins added 20 points and eight rebounds, Clint Capela and Cam Reddish contributed 12 points apiece as Atlanta drained 16 of 39 three-pointers.
The Nets hit just seven of 37 three-point attempts as they lost for the third time in their last four games. They got off to a roaring start to the new season with impressive victories over Boston and Golden State before this latest wobble.
Kevin Durant paced the Nets with 28 points on 10 of 21 shooting, while starting point guard Kyrie Irving struggled by making just eight of 32 shots from the field.
