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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
MIAMI (AP) – For the first time in a decade, the Dallas
Mavericks won a game in Miami.
|  | | Miami forward Brian Grant drives by the Mavericks' Juwan Howard. |
Dirk Nowitzki scored 29 points and Michael Finley hit a pair of
3-pointers in the fourth quarter as the Mavericks defeated the
Miami Heat 93-86 Wednesday night.
The Mavs won for the 19th time on the road this season -- one
short of the franchise record -- and defeated the Heat in Miami for
the first time in 10 years.
The Mavs won for the fourth time in five games and handed the
Heat only their third loss in their last 17 home games.
Nowitzki shot 10-for-16 from the floor and 5-for-8 from 3-point
range as the Mavericks shot 54.5 percent. Steve Nash added 19
points and seven assists, and Finley and Juwan Howard each added 16
points.
Anthony Mason led Miami with 25 points and Brian Grant scored
23. The Heat were playing for the first time without leading scorer
Eddie Jones, who dislocated a shoulder Monday against the Pistons
and might not be back until the playoffs.
The Heat are 1-4 without Jones, who missed four games earlier
this season with a calf injury.
"I don't think that affected us," Miami coach Pat Riley said.
"We just ran into a very talented team. They played well and shot
the ball well. They scrambled enough to allow their size to be a
factor."
The Heat had no answer for the 7-foot Nowitzki on the offensive
end or for 7-foot-6 center Shawn Bradley defensively.
Nowitzki kept stepping out from behind screens and dropping in
3-pointers, and Bradley blocked a season-high nine shots and
altered many more as the Heat struggled to find an inside game.
Nowitzki scored most of his points from the outside, spotting up
around the perimeter whenever the Heat clogged the middle with
double-teams.
"They messed up on their rotations a few times and I was wide
open," Nowitzki said.
Bradley also pulled down 14 rebounds, 13 of them on the
defensive end. He often sealed off the lane whenever the Heat
attacked the basket.
"He was huge for us," Nelson said. "I needed Shawn in there
to guard the rim. We stayed with him because that was our game
plan."
"If Shawn plays like that every night, he's an All-Star,"
Nowitzki added.
Nash's layup put Dallas ahead for good, 75-74, with 6:56 left.
Finley hit a pair of 3-pointers, the second one putting the Mavs up
86-78 with 3:20 left.
Dallas led 46-40 at halftime behind Nowitzki's 17 points.
The Heat used a 12-4 run in the third quarter to tie the game at
54 on Mason's jumper with 6:46 left.
Bruce Bowen's jumper gave the Heat a 62-61 lead with 2:05 left,
their first lead since the opening minutes of the game.
Dallas led 67-66 after three quarters.
"We had them right where we wanted them in the fourth quarter,
but we didn't have enough effort, and we were careless with the
ball," Mason said. "That's it in a nutshell."
Game notes
The Heat activated guard Ricky Davis, who had been out all
season with a broken foot. Davis, part of the trade from Charlotte
last summer, didn't play, although he has been practicing for the
past month. ... Former Indiana University coach Bob Knight was at
the game on the invitation of Mavs owner Mark Cuban, an IU alum.
... Miami had its 10-game home winning streak against Dallas
snapped. ... It was the first meeting between the teams since the
Mavs snapped the Heat's 16-game winning streak in the series with a
95-91 overtime win on Feb. 2. ... Dan Majerle started in place of
Jones. The lineup of Jones, Tim Hardaway, Brian Grant, Bruce Bowen
and Anthony Mason had started 41 straight games together. ... The
Mavs shot 72 percent (13 of 18) in the first half, with Nowitzki
scoring 10 points.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Dallas Clubhouse
Miami Clubhouse
Heat's Jones out until April after dislocating shoulder
RECAPS
Milwaukee 101
Boston 94
New York 79
Indiana 75
Philadelphia 102
New Jersey 94
Houston 104
Atlanta 98
Washington 88
Cleveland 83
Dallas 93
Miami 86
Orlando 112
Detroit 102
Sacramento 100
Phoenix 89
Utah 86
Seattle 82
LA Lakers 97
Toronto 85
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki drills the open 3-pointer from the corner.
avi: 388 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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