MIAMI (AP) – Tim Hardaway Jr. spent many nights as a kid shooting on the Miami Heat court, a perk that came with his father being a star guard for the team.
Clearly, it still feels like home.
Hardaway Jr. made 10 3-pointers and scored 36 points, Luka Doncic added 23 points and the Dallas Mavericks moved up to the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference by topping the short-handed Miami Heat 127-113 on Tuesday night. Duncan Robinson and Goran Dragic scored 19 for Miami, which remained No. 6 in the Eastern Conference. The Heat played without Jimmy Butler, ruled out about two hours before the game with flu-like symptoms – not anything related to the coronavirus, the team said.
Trevor Ariza scored 16 of his 18 points in the first quarter for Miami. Gabe Vincent and Kendrick Nunn scored 14, and Bam Adebayo finished with 11 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds for the Heat. Hardaway Jr. – whose father, Tim Hardaway, has his jersey retired by the Heat – tied the Mavericks record for 3’s in a game, plus became the third player to ever make that many in a game against Miami. Doncic had 12 rebounds and eight assists for the Mavericks, Jalen Brunson scored 19 points, and Josh Richardson scored 17 for Dallas.
The win clinched no worse than a play-in tournament berth for Dallas, which would have fallen to No. 7 in the West with a loss. “We’re just we’re going day-to-day with what we need to do to prepare for each given game,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. “Players are aware of standings and all the machinations going on there. We’ve got to stay in the present, we’ve got to stay process-oriented, and we’ve got to do the things that bring us success.”
TIP-INS
Paul George (in 2019) were the others to make 10 3’s in a game against Miami.
Heat: On his 29th birthday, Victor Oladipo (right knee) missed his 14th consecutive game. Tyler Herro (right foot soreness) sat out his sixth game in a row. … Dragic fell to 2-2 in his head-to-head matchups with Doncic, his fellow Slovenian.
HASLEM’S TIME
Udonis Haslem hasn’t played yet this season for Miami, his 18th with the Heat, though coach Erik Spoelstra said he intends to use him at some point in the final games. “I’m going to make it happen,” Spoelstra said. The Heat keeps Haslem, who appeared in four games last season, on the roster for his leadership behind the scenes – and might do the same again next season if Haslem wants.
KLEBER STATUS
Maxi Kleber missed the game for Dallas because of right Achilles soreness, adding to a season where he’s missed time with no fewer than five health issues, COVID-19 among them. The Mavs are bracing for him to miss a couple more games before returning. “It’s just been a lot … so we’re going to take a little time here,” Carlisle said.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: Host Brooklyn on Thursday.
Heat: Host Minnesota on Friday.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
