The Miami Heat have now won five straight games. They started off slow against the Dallas Mavericks, who jumped to an early double-digit lead. The Heat’s defense kept giving up three-point opportunities to Dallas, however, Miami finished it off in the end to close the game. Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro were aggressive early, and Kyle Lowry hit big shots in the fourth period. With the victory, Miami improves their record to 6-1 for the season.
Here are my takeaways from Tuesday’s win over the Mavericks.
Kyle Lowry’s Scoring Night
Since the start of the season, Lowry has been great as a playmaker. He continued that on Tuesday by hitting guys at their spots in the half-court. This time, the Heat point guard also had his outside game going. Lowry was hitting transition pull-up and late shot clock three-pointers. Miami doesn’t need the scoring provided by Lowry every night, but it’s still essential in moments. If he can continue to shoot like this, the temperature will continue to rise in South Beach.
Kyle has been pulling up and knocking these down all night đź‘Ś pic.twitter.com/lcrESRYeZE
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) November 3, 2021
Lowry finished the night with 22 points and nine assists.
Tyler Herro continues his sixth-man case
With the Heat struggling early, Butler was the only one scoring for the team. Then, Herro entered the game and took over the scoring responsibilities. In just 17 minutes, Herro already had 17 points by halftime. The guy continues to be a bucket for the Heat. In the second period, he even went toe-to-toe with Luka Doncic. Doncic hit a three-pointer on one end, and then Herro scored quickly on the other. A couple of possessions later, Herro hit back-to-back pull-up threes off the dribble. The young guard is determined to prove his doubters wrong.
Herro finished with 25 points and four assists.
Hot Shooting from Downtown
The Heat were making it rain from long range on Tuesday night. During the third period, TNT showed a graphic where Miami was hitting 65 percent on 17 attempts from downtown. This is something very different from what we’ve seen so far this season. In previous games, Miami was struggling from long distance. Most of the credit goes to the guys taking advantage of their catch and shoot opportunities. Lowry hitting from downtown definitely helps. That’s where most of his scoring opportunities will come from. He is providing more firepower to the offense, which makes this Heat team even more dangerous.
Miami ended the night shooting 13 of 25 (52 percent) from beyond the arc.
Guarding Luka Doncic
Miami’s defense has been the story line so far this season. They have has done a great job of making things tough for opposing teams. On Tuesday, Doncic provided a difficult challenge for the team. The Heat threw multiple defenders at the Mavericks star all game long. He personally put Bam Adebayo and Butler in early foul trouble and had 19 points by halftime. Miami even tried doubling him at times. It appeared to have worked because Luka was worn out by the fourth quarter.
Doncic finished with 33 points on 10 of 25 shooting from the field.
Next up: Versus the Boston Celtics on Thursday. Game tips off at 7:30pm EDT.
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