Heat Look To Bounce Back Against Mavs As Road Trip Continues
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DALLAS (CBSMiami/SportsDirect) – The Miami Heat will be looking to get back on track against a team they have a bit of a history with.
The Heat had a season-long four-game winning streak snapped in the opener of a three-game road trip and look to rebound when they visit the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
Miami dropped a 115-102 decision to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday when it committed 17 turnovers and allowed 16 3-point baskets.
The Heat will look to be much crisper on the second night of the back-to-back and guard Dwyane Wade bemoaned the sloppiness against Houston.
"I think early on we just weren't mentally sharp," Wade told reporters. "We came out and were losing the ball."
Dallas is playing the third contest of a stretch in which it plays five games in seven nights — it concludes with a home game against San Antonio and a road outing against Memphis on back-to-back nights.
"It's hard. We're a little tired but that's the NBA," backup guard J.J. Barea told reporters. "You've just got to take it one game at a time."
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FSN Sun (Miami), FSN Southwest (Dallas)
ABOUT THE HEAT (27-22): Dominating center Hassan Whiteside (oblique) is expected to miss his seventh straight game and his absence has provided an opportunity for veteran Amar'e Stoudemire to put together a solid stretch.
The 33-year-old former All-Star can't play much more than half the game because of the physical wear and tear but he has strung together back-to-back double-doubles and three consecutive double-digit scoring outings.
Stoudemire is averaging 13 points and 10 rebounds while making 17-of-29 shots during the last three games.
ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (28-23): Dallas might be without point guards Deron Williams (hip) and Devin Harris (toe), and coach Rick Carlisle is hoping the injury Williams suffered during Monday's 112-97 loss to Atlanta isn't serious.
"He got hit in the hip, a hip-to-hip collision on the drive," Carlisle told reporters. "I don't know anything about a timetable but I'm concerned."
Barea, who is averaging 14 points during the last five games, will move into the starting lineup, and the Mavericks certainly recall his productivity during a four-game stretch of filling in for Williams in late December — he averaged 22.3 points and made 18-of-26 3-point shots.
BUZZER BEATERS
- The Heat have won eight of the past nine regular-season meetings after rolling to a 106-82 home win over the Mavericks on Jan. 1.
- Miami SG Tyler Johnson (left shoulder) will undergo surgery Wednesday and miss approximately two months.
- Dallas PF Dirk Nowitzki is averaging 15.2 points during his last five games — the drop in production beginning after matching his season high of 31 points against Boston on Jan. 18.
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