|
Heat-Mavs: 300k |
Nowitzki made just 5-of-16 shots in a loss to Orlando on Tuesday but was much sharper in this one. He was 12-of-24 from the field, including 4-of-7 on 3-point tries, and all 13 of his free-throw attempts.
"I wanted to find my rhythm early tonight after not doing much against Orlando," Nowitzki said. "We want to be a good road team because last year we struggled a lot."
"We did a great job on offense," Mavericks coach Don Nelson said. "I taught Dirk how to shoot that jumper in practice today. He put on quite a show. Dirk was making every shot. ... We rode him."
Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant and Cleveland Cavaliers phenom LeBron James both had 38 points in a game earlier this season. Nowitzki's career high is 43 points, set Jan. 27 in Seattle.
"Dirk had it going," Heat guard Keyon Dooling said. "He's one of the few guys in this league at the four position who can just stretch the whole floor. He came off of a couple of screen-and-rolls like he was a point guard and nailed threes."
The 23-year-old Daniels got 15 starts last season as a rookie but has been slowed by left ankle pain this campaign. He had played sparingly until Tuesday, when veteran Michael Finley went down with a right ankle injury.
With Finley out indefinitely, Daniels was inserted into the starting lineup and provided an immediate spark, making 5-of-7 shots in the opening 12 minutes as Dallas bolted to a 34-19 lead and never was headed.
"I'm still tentative, but I'm playing through it," Daniels said. "It's hard to stop a team when you keep getting open the way we did."
The Mavericks made 25 of their 41 shots in the opening half, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range.
"You always plan to have a good start, but it doesn't always work out that way," Nelson said. "Tonight it did. When you start off the way we did, it carries through to the rest of the game."
Shaquille O'Neal had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Dwyane Wade added 20 for Miami, which had trailed for a total of just over five minutes in winning its first four games. The four straight wins to open the season already had established a team record.
"(There's not) a whole lot to say," Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said. "They dominated from the get-go. They got absolutely everything they wanted. ... Obviously, Nowitzki was fabulous, but we've got to have a better plan. I'll fault myself for that."
Van Gundy was not pleased with how his team defended the perimeter or handled itself when things got ugly early.
"Those are the kind of teams we've got to get better against," Van Gundy said. "I was not happy with how we handled our first adversity of the season."
Wade left the game with 7:07 remaining after getting tangled up with teammate Michael Doleac. Wade suffered a sprained left ankle and did not return. He is questionable for Friday's game in San Antonio.
