Stats Rundown: 3 stats to know from the Dallas Mavericks loss to the Miami Heat, 129-122

Apr 2, 2023 - 4:00 AM

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The Dallas Mavericks lost 129-122 to the Miami Heat Saturday night in Miami. The Heat came out and absolutely decimated the Mavericks pathetic excuse for a defense, scoring 44 points in the first quarter. As has been the case far too often, the Mavericks incredible offense was impressive, but not enough.

The Heat are ninth in the league in defensive rating and second in pure points allowed per game. The Mavericks put up 122 points against that defense and still managed to lose fairly convincingly.

Here are three stats from the game:

35: Points scored by Jimmy Butler

Butler was relentless in attacking, getting to his spot on the floor and pulling up. He took only three 3-point attempts, making only one. Butler is an outlier in a league that has increasingly gone away from shots other than threes and layups. But he is also a fantastic player who was arguably the best player on a court he shared with Luka Doncic.

42: Points scored by Doncic

Speaking of Doncic he was phenomenal. He also chipped in 10 rebounds and eight assists. There has been a surprising amount of discontent regarding Mavericks fans with Doncic recently, but never forget what a truly breath taking talent he is. His heroics were not enough tonight, but he did everything he could.

0: Total contribution by Josh Green

Green had one rebound and one turnover which cancel each other out to result in zero contribution. This has been a good developmental year for Green. He has shown skills that he previously did not show.

The next step for him is consistency. He simply can’t have no-shows like this in the coming years if the Mavericks hope to figure things out. Dallas will have to pay him like a contributor to keep him. He will have to consistently be a contributor to justify it.

Overall, this game likely ended any chance the Mavericks make the play-in. It was a microcosm of the Mavericks season — some individual brilliance by Doncic, elite team offensive production fueled by that brilliance, and historically horrific defense that meant none of it mattered.

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