Mavericks at Heat
The Miami Heat dropped two of their last three games and now find themselves on the outside of the top eight in the Eastern Conference. The Heat will try to bounce back and stay in the race for the for one of the final three playoff spots when they host the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.
Miami had a chance to turn aside its closest competition for the No. 8 spot on Tuesday and instead squandered a 17-point lead and dropped a 104-99 decision at home to Orlando, which moved a half-game ahead and into eighth place in the East. "The start of the third quarter, they got back into the game so quickly," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters after the loss. "We were not executing with force or detail. They made more plays, had less mistakes defensively, and we had to score over the top of them. They just played better. It was a toss-up game and they just made the plays down the stretch." Dallas failed to follow up an impressive win at Golden State over the weekend and instead fell for the 16th time in 19 games with a 125-121 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. "It comes down to execution," Dallas guard Devin Harris told the team's website. "We've had our Achilles heel. Sometimes it's free throws, sometimes it's turnovers. Tonight, it was offensive rebounds. We just got to do better."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (Dallas), FS Sun (Miami)
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (29-45): Dallas rookie point guard Luka Doncic collected 28 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists on Tuesday to match Magic Johnson's NBA record of seven triple doubles for a player prior to his 21st birthday. "He's been playing great, seeing the floor a lot better, understanding when to attack and when to get other people involved," Harris told the team's website of Doncic. "He's stepping up his game, especially during a time when we need it." Doncic got some scoring help on Tuesday from power forward Dwight Powell, who posted 21 points on 6-of-7 shooting to go with 13 rebounds.
ABOUT THE HEAT (36-38): There are five teams separated by 2 1/2 games fighting for the final three spots in the East heading into play on Wednesday, and Miami is feeling the pressure. "If you want to make the playoffs, it's going to be uncomfortable," Spoelstra told reporters. "This is what the playoffs actually feels like. There's a big misconception and a big lie about the playoffs. Everybody thinks it's so fun. When you are actually in it, it's a grind. So, this is a great blessing to be in, in a situation where you feel this." The Heat will play five of their final eight games against teams above them in the East standings, including road games at Boston and Toronto.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Heat SF Justise Winslow (thigh) sat out the last six games and is questionable for Thursday.
2. Doncic went 0-of-9 from 3-point range on Tuesday and is 11-of-62 from beyond the arc over his last eight games.
3. Miami took the last three meetings, including a 112-101 triumph at Dallas on Feb. 13.