Mavericks Vs. Heat Final Score: Dallas Struggles To 106-85 Loss In Miami

The Dallas Mavericks struggled their way to a 106-85 loss to the Miami Heat Thursday night despite 25 points from Dirk Nowitzki.

The Mavericks defense struggled to contain the Heat who outscored Dallas 46-24 in the paint. Dirk Nowitzki hit just 1-9 shots in the second half after a red hot start to finish 9-19 from the field on the night. Lamar Odom dropped 12 points off the bench while Brandan Wright and Vince Carter finished with 11 points each.

Miami hit 49 percent of its shots in the game and enjoyed balanced scoring across the board. LeBron James and Chris Bosh led the Heat with 19 points each. Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem each finished with 16 while Mario Chalmers added 12.

The loss drops Dallas into sixth place in the Western Conference standings with a 29-23 record. The Mavericks have won six of 10 and currently hold a game and a half lead over the Utah Jazz and the Houston Rockets.

For more on the Dallas Mavericks, be sure to visit Mavs Moneyball. Miami Heat news and notes can be found at Peninsula Is Mightier, and all your hoops news is at SB Nation's NBA page.

Mavericks Vs. Heat Score: Miami Takes 60-53 Lead Over Dallas At Halftime

The Miami Heat used a big second quarter to wrestle the lead away from the Dallas Mavericks and take a 60-53 advantage at halftime. Miami outscored Dallas 36-24 in the second quarter after the Mavericks took a 29-24 lead after one.

Dirk Nowitzki leads the Mavericks with 16 points and is a sizzling 8-10 from the field. Vince Carter added nine points while Brandan Wright chipped in eight off the bench. The Mavericks hit 55 percent of their shots but had a difficult time slowing down the Heat.

Miami hit 62 percent of its field goal attempts in the first half with Dwyane Wade leading the way with 14 points. LeBron James added 11 and Chris Bosh chipped in nine. Norris Cole and Udonis Haslem came off the bench to score eight points each.

For more on the Dallas Mavericks, be sure to visit Mavs Moneyball. Miami Heat news and notes can be found at Peninsula Is Mightier, and all your hoops news is at SB Nation's NBA page.

Mavericks Vs. Heat: Delonte West To Return For Dallas In Miami

According to ESPN Dallas' Jean-Jacques Taylor, Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle is going to rotate guard Delonte West into the game on Thursday night against the Miami Heat. The backup point guard has not played in a game since he broke a finger on his non-shooting hand on Feb. 15 against the Denver Nuggets.

West had his fingers taped together and had them covered in gauze. However, he still knows that if they're hit, it's going to hurt.

"It's a mental thing," he said. "I just have to fight through it. I use my hands a lot to knock the ball loose and trying to get steals. It's just something I'm going to have to deal with."

Carlisle is happy to have West back. He couldn't say, however, how much West would play or if he would even play well when given the opportunity to get back on the court.

"We're going to get him back into it the right way, so I'm not sure how much he'll play, but we're going to try to get him into the game," Carlisle said of West. "There's going to be some apprehension and he's going to have some stingers because the doctors says the hand is going to be swollen some for another four-five months."

Before his injury, West was averaging 8.3 points and 3.5 assists per game and played an average of 22 minutes. He was also playing great defense, which could come in handy for the Mavericks against the high-scoring Heat.

For more on the Mavericks, head to Mavs Moneyball, and for more on the Mavs-Heat game, follow SB Nation Dallas' StoryStream.

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