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.
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